Under The Worst Circumstances
by Surgery-Girl
Summary: With an wedding set to happen in only five months, Meredith is completely blissful. But then there was an accident bringing all of Mark’s ‘family’ to Seattle sending a dark cloud over Meredith’s bright and shiny life. MerMark. Bad Summery I know.
1. Ninety Six Hours

_**Summery: With a wedding set to happen in only five months, Meredith is completely blissful. But then there was an accident bringing all of Mark's 'family' to Seattle sending a dark cloud over Meredith's bright and shiny life. MerMark.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Grey's Anatomy**_

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!! I guess this is like my present to my readers. I will probably make this a shorter story (Definitely shorter that Tears of Pink Ribbons or By My Side). Hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas again! (But this story has nothing to do directly with Christmas. It's set around that time of the year, but it's not a Christmas story exactly. There might be some references to Christmas… but now I'm rambling, so yeah I'll shut up.) **_

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She never expected to wind up this way. She never expected that she would be five almost six months pregnant, engaged, and a forth year resident all at the same time. She never expected she would break up with Derek or start dating Mark Sloan. She never expected that she would fall in love with Mark Sloan. And she never expected that only five months before their wedding, she would be standing in a hospital room looking at his battered body.

Tears rolled off her cheeks and soaked into her scrub top that was too big for her frame, but just barely fit her stomach. After 96 straight hours of being at the hospital, her friends could finally go home and sleep in their own beds, yet they stood outside the room waiting to see if she were okay. After four and a half days straight of nothing but rain and cold, the rain had stopped. After 96 straight hours of the pit being filled with car accident victims, the pit had finally calmed down.

An hour ago, Meredith was searching the hospital high and low for her fiancé in hopes that she could convince him to rub her feet for a momentary escape from the pain that surgery and being on them constantly had cause. But then she was informed that he had been one of the victims of a car accident that was wheeled into the pit that she had been working in no more than twenty minutes before.

She walked to the door and stepped out wiping her eyes.

"You guys don't have to stay. You've been here long enough." She said.

"We can stay, Mer, if you need us to." Alex offered.

She smiled sadly shaking her head. "No, it's okay. Go home get some sleep. I'm going to stay here."

"You've been here just as long as we have. You're pregnant. We can stay here with him while you go get some food and change." George quickly said.

"No." She shook her head. "I just want to stay here with him."

Izzie understood. Perhaps it was the fact that when Denny had come back to the hospital she always wanted to stay with him. "Can we at least bring you something? Some clothes? Some food?"

"You guys don't have to do that. Just go home and get some sleep."

George hugged her. "Call us if you need anything."

She nodded. "I will. I'll see you guys later." She opened the door and went back into the room before they could object anymore.

She would be getting no sleep for at least the next two hours. The next hour was the most critical. If he could get his heart rate normal and his breathing back even a little within the next hour, he had a good chance of pulling through. The hour following, she would watch as he is wheeled from specialist to specialist getting an MRI, CT, and any other scan necessary. So looked at his face which hadn't gotten too battered surprisingly. There were a couple of bruises and he had to get stitches along his hairline and there was a cut on his cheek that didn't need stitches. It was the rest of his body that took a beating. His left shoulder was dislocated and his left wrist had been broken. Their first set of scans revealed little bleeding in his brain that would most likely recede by itself, but the neurologist was a little worried that had hadn't woken up yet. They were still waiting for the scan of his chest and abdomen to come back.

She settled into a chair and put her feet up into another chair. She rested her hand on her stomach and could feel the baby kick under it.

"Daddy is going to be okay." She kept repeating softly. "Everything is going to be okay."


	2. Calling His Family

"Meredith?" Bailey called from the doorway. She looked up as Bailey walked in and took the seat beside her. "Meredith, he's spleen has ruptured. We need to take him into surgery."

"Okay." She said quietly signing the consent form.

"Is there anyone else we can contact?"

"He has a mother… out and New York, but I don't know how to get in contact with her."

"Meredith, you should go home and get some rest for the sake of the baby."

She shook her head. "I want to stay here with Mark. I'll try to find away to get in contact with his mother."

Bailey sighed shaking her head at her former intern's stubbornness. "Try to get some rest. He will be fine. He would want you to sleep some."

Meredith smiled at her a slightly forced sad smile. "I'll try."

"Good." She stood up. "You have to do right by that baby."

Meredith nodded rubbing her stomach. "Are you taking him into surgery now?"

"Yeah. We can't wait."

She nodded knowing this herself. Standing up, she kissed his cheek as Bailey kicked the breaks off. A tear rolled off her cheek as a nurse helped Bailey wheel him out of the room.

"He'll be fine, Meredith." She reassured her before walking away.

Meredith let out a sigh pushing her bangs back out of her face.

She thought about weather or not she should call his mother. When he was a child his parents were distant, much like her mother. But after his father died of liver cancer when he was eighteen, he and his mom had gotten close. They still talked on a regular basis, but she had never met her. Mrs. Sloan had ever come to Seattle and Meredith wondered if she would even be attending the wedding. It didn't seem like she had much interest in Meredith probably because she was so used to Mark and his old ways of sleeping around and thought that their relationship would end up being a really long fling like she never expects them to actually get down the aisle. But none the less, she was Mark's mother.

She contemplated for a second, before digging through Mark's jacket. She located his cell phone which was blinking three missed calls. Two were from her and one was from the Chief. She exited out of the message and scrolled through his contacts. She noticed Alex's, Christina's, George's, Izzie's, and her own among other names of doctors and people she didn't know. Finally the light landed on Mom. She noticed one said Mama Shepherd and one said Mom. She had heard Mark refer to Derek's mother as Mama Shepherd before which made sense since Derek and he had grown up brothers. She hit call on the entry 'Mom' and waited as it rang.

"Hello?" A voice came. "Markie?"

"Um, Mrs. Sloan?"

"This is she."

"Mrs. Sloan, this is Meredith Grey. Your son's fiancé."

"Meredith, we finally speak. What can I do for you?"

"Mark was in an accident. He's in critical condition and in surgery for a ruptured spleen right now."

"Markie was in an accident? Oh my god." She gasped. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We still aren't sure, but… I just wanted to let you know. I can keep you posted or do what ever you want me to do."

"No… I'm going to round up the girls and everyone and we'll head out there."

It took a second for that to soak in. "Here to Seattle? Here?"

"Of course. We want to be there for Mark."

"Uh, yes… Okay."

"We'll get plan tickets and… let you know as soon as possible. Would there be anyway you will be able to pick us up?"

She looked horrified as she looked around the room. "If I can't then I can certainly find one of my friends who can."

"Good… Let me know if anything changes."

"I will."

"Bye-bye."

"Bye." She hung up the phone falling back in the seat. "Great."

"_Just what I need. And who the hell is 'the girls?' Mark is an only child." _She thought silently cursing herself for calling.


	3. Out Of Surgery

"How is he?" She asked as they wheeled him in.

"He's doing well. How are you?" Bailey asked. "Did you sleep?"

"Yeah." She lied.

"You know better than to lie to me, Grey."

"I didn't. I called him mother. She and 'the girls,' whoever the hell they are, are coming here. I'm in hell. God hates me. Mark is unconscious and his family that I have never met is coming here."

Bailey laughed. "I think you better get some sleep, Grey."

Meredith sighed. "Is he really okay?" She asked concern taking over her as she walked to his bed. She took his hand in hers. "Be straight with me."

"We removed his spleen with no issues. When we were in there I noticed a small tear in his long that wasn't very threatening but I sewed it up to be sure. His other organs are fine. He'll be in a lot of pain when he wakes up. He had two broken ribs and the shoulder and the wrist as you already know. Dr. Harrington wants to do another CT in the morning to be sure the bleed has or is receding." She nodded. "When he wakes up, we'll start him on morphine to reduce the pain the best we can. Torres will be in, in the morning to sling his arm and wrap his waist." Since Meredith was a doctor, she know and has seen the worst to make it easier on her, the baby, and pretty much everyone involved, Bailey knew it was best to walk her through what was going to happen step by step. "None of this will be as bad as the pain of not being able to do surgery for the next month or to." She added with a smile.

Meredith smiled and nodded knowing all the complaining he'll be doing about being out of work just like she will do when she's out on maternity leave. "He's out of the wood right?"

"Hopefully. We'll just have to wait. But don't worry. Get some sleep. We'll wake you if anything changes."

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey."

"You're welcome. When I get back, you better have gotten some sleep."

"I'll try."

"No, you'll do it."

Meredith giggled lightly as Bailey walked out. She sat down in her seat by the bed, taking his hand in hers. "I love you, Mark."

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She finally gave in to sleep. Around midnight that night, she fell asleep after a couple hours of barely being able to keep her eyes open. It wasn't until seven the next morning that she opened them again. Dim light poured into the room and his phone was going off. She lazily picked it up.

"Hello?" She yawned.

"Meredith? It's Donna Sloan."

"Oh, hi."

"We got our flight. We're in Texas about to switch flights."

She sat up. "Uh, when will you be here?"

"At ten fifteen your time."

"Okay."

"Any change on my son?"

"He's still unconscious, but surgery went fine."

"Okay. Good bye."

"Bye."

"Meredith?" She said almost forgetting to tell her.

"Yes?"

"We have someone to pick us up."

"Oh… That's good."

"What room are you in?"

"4023."

"Okay. Goodbye."

"Bye." She hung up. _"Who could be picking them up?"_

Falling back in the chair, she rubbed her forehead. Sighing, she glanced at the clock. Seven-fifteen. She looked up at Mark's face taking his hand. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." She called.

"Dr. Grey?" Dr. Harrington said as she appeared in the door. She was the new head of Nuero who took over after Derek left Seattle Grace to go to Mercy West. Neither Meredith nor Mark saw Derek anymore, but they had heard from Richard and the grapevine that he was engaged to some girl who was ten years younger than him.

"How is he doing, Dr. Harrington?" She asked as Harrington checked Mark's pupils.

"Dr. Sloan? Mark? Can you hear me?" Harrington asked loudly before running a light across her eyes. "He's eyes are a little responsive, so that's a good sign."

Meredith nodded. "Are you going to do a CT?"

"Yes, we have him scheduled in five minutes. I'll be right back to take him." Meredith silently nodded as Harrington walked out.

There was another knock of the door and Meredith looked up to see Alex walking in.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Coming to check on you."

"Trying to be okay, but I'm five months pregnant, worried as hell, my future mother in-law is coming to town whom I never met while my fiancé is unconscious and unable to help me, and I've barely slept in the last five days."

Alex sighed. "Anything I can do?"

"Can you make Mark be okay?" She asked rubbing her stomach.

"Not any fast than Bailey or Harrington. Sorry."

"Then no..."

"Let me know." He said walking to the door.

"Will do."

"I'll see you later."

She nodded as he walked out. She sighed as Harrington came back in.

"We're going to take him up. You can wait here." Harrington informed her kicking the breaks off. Meredith nodded kissing Mark's hand as they started to wheel him out. As he hand dropped to the bed, they took him into the hall leaving her standing in the middle of the room. She watched as Mark disappeared as worry set in, in the pit of her stomach.


	4. Memories

She sat in his room after receiving the news that there was nothing to do but to wait. There was minimal blood on the scan and no visible neurological worries at that time. They just needed to wait to see when he would wake up. She hadn't left the side of his bed in two and a half hours for anything. She watched his face intently seeing little movements now and then. He had not awoken which worried Dr. Harrington even though she didn't say it. She had the 'doctor' look in her eyes that was a telltale for doctors across America.

Staring at his face, she could remember exactly how she felt the day he proposed.

"_Mer?" He called as he pushed the door shut with his foot. _

"_Kitchen." She yelled back. She expected him to come right away, but five minutes later he still hadn't come. "Mark?" She walked into the living room to find him pacing mumbling something to himself. "You okay?"_

"_Hmm?" He said his head shooting up. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'll be right there."_

_She looked at him suspiciously but nodded and went back into the kitchen. _

_Taking a deep breath, he soon followed her in to find her making herself some tea. He watched as she dipped the tea bag and pulled it out and repeated. She looked up at him and smiled. "I ordered pizza it should be here any second."_

"_Uh, great. Sounds great."_

_She smiled, picked up her cup, and headed out stopping to kiss his cheek. _

_About five minutes later the pizza arrived and they sat down in the living room to eat. After finishing, Meredith cleaned up while Mark put on a movie. Sitting down beside him, she nuzzled close resting her head on his chest. He played with her hair, but after about ten minutes he stopped. She was a little confused and wondered if he had fallen asleep already. _

"_Meredith?" He said quietly. _

"_Hmm?" She answered. _

_Before she knew what was happening, he was holding out a black velvet box with a white gold diamond ring sparkling in it. She gasped sitting up. _

"_Meredith…" He said sliding out so he was on the floor on one knee. "Will you marry me?"_

_Her eyes grew wide with shock. A couple moments passed and she could see he was getting nervous. _

"_Yes." She squealed wrapping her arms around him. _

He had told her at some point that he had planned to do it the following night at dinner, but he couldn't wait. Looking back, she wouldn't have had it any other way. They had originally thought to have the wedding in January or February, but when they found out about the baby they decided to move it to after it was born in March. The date was set for late April.

She looked down at the white gold three-stone diamond ring on her finger.

It all started as a friendship two years back not long before all ties with Derek were broken.

_She walked down the hall with her head low. Her eyes fixated on her shoes unable to put up with the stares and whispers any longer. Rumors of the end of Meredith and Derek had been all over the hospital all day. It was all speculation made up of different pieces of conversations of her friends and mini-fights between the used to be couple in stairwells. Turning the corner, she could hear people's voice echoing down the almost empty hall. She stopped as she caught sight of Mark and Derek. _

"_How could you do that to her?" Mark yelled._

"_It was a mistake. You of all people she know what a mistake is." Derek countered. _

"_You cheated on her. You broke her just like you've done every time she let's you in. How could you do that to her?"_

"_You of all people have no right to have this conversation with me."_

"_This has nothing to do with Addison, Derek. This has to do with you and you screwing your scrub nurse."_

"_You screwed your best friend's wife. So do you want to be a pot or the kettle?"_

"_We aren't talking about me."_

"_All I'm saying is that you have no right to stand there and yell at me for a drunken mistake."_

"_You're seriously calling me a hypocrite? Right now of all times you're calling me a hypocrite?" _

"_Yeah, I'm seriously calling you a hypocrite." Derek said. "This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it, Sloan."_

"_This has everything to do with Meredith. And while you were changing your sheets and throwing away the condom, I was the one holding Meredith's hair back after she finished a bottle of tequila. I was the one comforting her while she cried over you. I'm not letting you hurt her again."_

"_You don't have a say in what either of us do."_

"_No, I don't have a say over what you do, but I can sure as hell make sure Meredith doesn't end up hurt."_

"_Is that a threat?"_

"_Yeah, it's a threat." He said turning and walking away._

She smiled sadly as she twisted the ring around her finger. He had never hurt her and never would. That was the first thing he promised when they started dating a year ago. And he kept his promise.

Standing up, she adjusted the blanket around his body. She looked down at her stomach with one hand resting on her stomach. With only about thirteen more weeks left in her pregnancy, her stomach with getting large especially for her small fame. She could feel the baby kick under her hand.

He had finally convinced her to find out the sex of the baby after nearly a month of begging. They had made an appointment for the end of the week. He had been so excited to know weather or not he'd have a little girl or boy.

A couple tears rolled off her cheeks as she thought about him talking to her stomach saying soon he wouldn't have to refer to the baby as 'baby.'

"Ah, Dr. Grey?" A voice came. "Is this a bad time?"

She forced as smile as she looked at Olivia wiping her eyes. "No, it's fine. What can I do for you, Olivia?"

"Ah…" She stepped in the room. "Dr. Shepherd and some other people are here to see you."

Meredith looked confused. Derek? He had neither seen nor talked to Derek in nearly a year in a half. What the hell did he want? Nodding, she wiped any tears from her eyes.

"Where is he?" She asked quietly.

"Outside." Olivia said gesturing the door.

'_Just what I need now."_ She thought.


	5. Enough To Worry About

She looked down at what she was wearing. A pair of black sweatpants pulled under her pregnant belly and a gray t-shirt that Izzie had brought her. She looked at her stomach. Mark had always teased her about how cute she looked pregnant, but she often found herself wondering if she looked fat more than pregnant. Looking down the hall, she saw Derek standing in the middle of the hall. He was working on his blackberry typing something. Crossing her arms across her chest and resting her arms on her pregnant stomach, she walked down the hall with a confident face. She stopped in front of him and cleared her throat to make him look up.

"Meredith."

"What are you doing here, Derek?" She asked coldly putting her hand on her hip.

He scanned her body before his eyes settled on her pregnant belly.

"I… I… You're pregnant."

"What did you expect to waltz in to find me single and pining over you?"

"No… but pregnant was something I didn't expect." He said still staring at her stomach.

"I'm up here." She said annunciating every word. He looked up at her face. "What do you want, Derek?"

"My mom called. Mark got in an accident?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where he is or who I can talk to? I have to pick up my mom, his mom, and my sisters in twenty minutes and I want to be able to give them a full update."

"You're their ride?"

"Yeah. How did you know they were coming?"

"I was the one who called."

"So you're his doctor?"

"No, I'm his fiancé."

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"Meredith, calm down." Addison said through the phone.

She and Addison had been friends for nearly a year and a half. After Derek went to Mercy and Mark and Meredith became friends, Addison started to rebuild a friendship with Mark. Eventually, she and Meredith became friends and all awkwardness eventually faded.

"I'm in hell, Addi. I'm in hell."

"What do you care if his family comes? You're not marrying him. You're marrying Mark."

"But Derek's family is Mark's family."

"I know, but what do you care if they don't like you. If they say anything about you, Mark would kill them."

"The problem with that is Mark is currently incapacitated, Addi. He can't defend me."

"Meredith, calm down. Just forget about them, okay? Worrying over too many things will hurt the baby."

Meredith took a deep breath. "You're right. I don't care. Derek is an ass and if his family wants to be like that…"

"Screw them. Mark is head over heels in love with you. Do you think he'll give a damn what they think of you?"

Meredith sighed. "I guess not. Thanks, Addi."

"You're welcome, Mer."

"It's these damn hormones."

Addison laughed. "I know, I know. Blame the hormones."

"Where are you?"

"I'm about two hours away. I'll stop by when I get there."

"Alright. Thanks."

"I'll talk to you later. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay." She hung up and let out a sigh looking at Mark. "You're lucky I love you." She mumbled kissing his cheek. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." She called grabbing Mark's chart.

"Dr. Grey?"

She looked up to see Dr. Harrington standing there. "Yes, Dr. Harrington?"

"Mr. Jameson in room 2910. Did you consult on him?"

"Yes, I said he was able to undergo surgery."

"We can't find the form. Do you have a second?"

"Sure." She kissed Mark's cheek and walked out after Dr. Harrington.


	6. Meet The Family

"Thank you, Dr. Grey." Dr. Harrington called as Meredith walked away.

"Your welcome." She called back walking towards the door of Mark's room. Opening the door, she called to her. "Let me know when he gets out."

"Will do."

She turned to walk into the room, but stopped. People filled the room looking at her as she stood in the door way. Stopping, she caught off guard to find her fiancé's room full of people.

"Can we help you?" Someone asked.

"I'm, ah, Meredith." She said slightly confused.

"Mark's fiancé." Derek said bitterly.

One of the girls laughed. "Mark's not engaged."

"Yes, dear, he is. I thought he would tell you. He didn't tell you, Carol?" An older one sitting closest to the bed.

"No, I had no idea." Carol answered before looking at Meredith.

"Meredith?" The older one by the bed said standing up. "I'm Donna Sloan." She introduced herself shaking her hand. "The one thing I didn't know is…" She looked down at her stomach. "That you're pregnant."

"Mark didn't tell you?" Meredith said horrified and overwhelmed by everything.

"No, I don't think it ever came up." She said shaking her head as she walked back towards the bed. "It's not like Markie to keep anything from his family. Do…" She turned to look at Meredith again. "you know anything about that?"

"Ah, no… I don't." She answered looking around the room as the whispering people.

"I told you she was a slutty intern." She heard someone say that seemed familiar but she wasn't sure who.

"Um, Meredith, this is Kathleen, Nancy, Stephanie, and Madison." She said introducing the woman around the room ranging from the ages of mid thirties to mid forties. "And this is their mother Carol Shepherd."

Then, she remembered from where. Nancy Shepherd. Derek's sister who had come out to Seattle to make her life a living hell. She blamed her for Derek's and Addison's marriage falling apart. She called her a home-wrecker and a slutty intern.

"Hi." Meredith said standing awkwardly with nothing else to stay.

"So you're marrying Mark?" Madison asked.

"Yes." Meredith answered.

"And you're pregnant?" Kathleen added.

"Yes."

"And it's Mark's?" Nancy asked

"Nancy!" Donna and Carol shouted.

"Of coarse." Meredith answer defensively.

"Well you never know. She was screwing Derek at one point." Nancy said defending her question leaving Meredith speechless.

"Stop it, Nancy." Carol said harshly.

"Meredith?" A voice came as someone put their hand on her shoulder.

She turned relief for the intrusion. "Hey."

"Hey. May I speak to you?" George asked.

"Yeah, sure. Excuse me." She said before falling him out into the hall far enough so they couldn't here. "Thank the lord for you. I am dying in there. None of the Shepherds knew about the engagement. None of them knew that I was pregnant. Right now I hate Mark for making my life a living hell. But I can't hat Mark because he's not conscious. But I have to deal with seven people who think I'm no more than a whore. I mean seriously, they don't even know me and they're already accusing me of being pregnant with another man's baby. Seriously!" She yelled as she finishing her ramble.

"Mer, calm down."

She sighed falling back into the chair. "What's up, George?"

"I came to check on you and from your little rant I assume you're not doing great."

"That obvious?"

George chuckled and nodded. "A little."

"I was afraid of that."

He smiled. "What do you need me to do?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I can't think straight. I'm so tired and my feet are killing me."

"Meredith, you really need to go home and get some rest."

"I can't go home. One I can't leave Mark. Two, I can't leave Mark alone with his family. Three, I can't leave Mark!"

George sighed. "Meredith, you're pregnant. You can't overwork yourself."

"Addi will be here soon. She'll be sure I don't go into premature labor or anything."

"You need rest. You'll put stress on the baby."

"Since when are you Mr. OB/GYN?" She snapped.

"I'm not. But I did do a rotation on it and I went to med school, so I took a course."

"The baby is fine." She said rubbing her stomach.

"We're just worried about you, Mark, and the baby."

"So am I hence the reason I must stay here."

"Can you just do us a favor?"

"It depends what it is."

"When Addison gets here, will you get an ultrasound?"

Meredith sighed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Thank you. I have to check on a few patients."

"You just got off… Why are you checking on patients?"

"Well, one of my friends is unconscious and my other friend refuses to leave the hospital even though she's pregnant."

"Very funny, George."

"That and I forgot to chart a couple of things, so… Anyway, the others are coming later at one fore regular shifts."

"So you're going to baby-sit me until then?"

"No." She gave him a 'don't you lie to me' look. "I'm just here to make sure you don't need anything and be here if you need me to be paged to… do anything for you."

"Whatever." She stood up. "I better go back in there."

"Page me if you need me, okay?"

"Yeah." She walked to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it.


	7. The Nazi's Back

She sat silently in the corner while they talk. She had no doubt in her mind that the subject was her. Their words barely breaking the surface of her mind. Knowing what they were saying, what they were calling her, she found herself worrying over other things. Every now and then she would hear the word 'whore' or a gasp or something that would surely ruin her reputation. But Mark was more important that her reputation. Everything was happening so fast. Her mind was racing with thoughts. Everything was weighing down on her shoulders.

"Dr. Grey?" She heard someone call, but she wasn't sure who. "Dr. Grey." They repeated. "Grey!"

Her head shot up and she looked up at the door to see Bailey standing there.

"Oh, ah, Dr. Bailey." She said rubbing her stomach as she stood up. "Sorry, I was... just…" He voice fade as she took a deep breath. "What can I do for you, Dr. Bailey?"

Bailey looked around the room. "Who? Who are all of these people?"

"Ah, Dr. Bailey." Derek said patting her shoulder as he walked into the room. Bailey jerked away and glared at him. "Nice to see you."

She pursed her lips and looked him up and down. "Dr. McDreamy returns."

"You don't sound overjoyed to see me. What about all the times we've shared?" He said.

"Oh yes, all the headaches that you cause me and this hospital. Fun times."

He rolled his eyes. "I see you're the same old Bailey."

"And you're the same old Dr. McDreamy or is the new name McAss?" She said shaking her head. Weather or not she would ever admit it. What Derek did to her intern didn't sit well with her, especially after the threat Bailey herself had made to him after the first time he broke Meredith.

Derek sat down quietly not muttering another word.

"Dr. Bailey." Meredith sighed rubbing her stomach. "What can I do for you?"

"Well I've been demoted. Somehow, I went from head of general surgery to secretary in an hour flat." She said walking towards Mark to check his scars.

"Excuse me?" Meredith asked.

"Well, since I was coming in to check on Dr. Sloan here, people think that I have nothing better to do but…" She turned on her heel to look at Meredith. "Play the gossiping teenage who passes notes in class. Do I look like someone who doesn't have anything better to do?"

"Ma'am?" Meredith said unsure.

"Dr. Montgomery is here. She wants to see you and O'Malley wanted to remind you of your little promise."

Meredith nodded. "How is it looking?"

"Normally, I hope I don't need to tell you what that means."

"Yeah." Meredith sighed.

Bailey turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" She nodded not notice that she was still rubbing her stomach. "Have you gotten any sleep lately?"

"I'm stressed. I'm not dying. I'll get the ultrasound, so everyone can stop worrying about me."

"You're pregnant, Grey. You have been here for six days straight. Dr. Sloan will be fine. You need to rest."

"I'm getting the rest I need. There are certainly enough beds here for me to sleep in."

"I don't see you sleeping in any bed around here."

"Dr. Bailey, I'm fine. Really."

"Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. That's your word. Fine. I'm fine. You're fine. We are all fine." Bailey said sighing. "Now, you will get your skinny ass into a room. You will get an ultrasound and you will make sure that baby is okay and you will get some food into your system. That is not café food. That is food from some place outside the walls of this hospital. Understand?"

Meredith sighed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Bailey. But I'm not leaving."

"Then get Kerev or someone to bring you food on their way in."

Meredith nodded and looked at the ground. "Yes, Dr. Bailey."

"Good." She straightened her scrubs and looked around. Meredith looked around as well to see them all staring at them.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Meredith sighed. "I'll be right out. I have to call Alex."

Bailey nodded. "If I come back to find, you haven't done what I've said. I will hurt you… or I'll wait until you have the baby then I will kick your ass."

Meredith nodded sitting back down as Bailey walked out.

"Dr. Montgomery? Seriously? As in Addison?" Derek said breaking the silence.

"What?"

"Addison Montgomery is your OB/GYN?" Carol asked.

"Yeah." Meredith said confused.

"How do you have her as an OB/GYN?" Kathleen said coldly.

"I have to make a call." Meredith sighed pulling out her phone.

"Would you give us an answer?" Nancy snapped.

"I'm hormonal. My feet are killing me. I'm tired as hell. I don't want to get into this discussion." She said.

"We've all been pregnant. You're preaching to the choir here. So we aren't going to pity you." Nancy said sharply.

Meredith shook her head. "I don't need to explain myself or my decision to have Addi as my doctor."

"Is Mark okay with it?" Stephanie asked.

"He encouraged it. Now if you will excuse me." She said storming out.


	8. Planning A New Policy

"Addi." She said hugging Addison tightly as she could with her stomach between them.

"Mer." She pulled Meredith down into the chair in front of the nurses' station. "How are you?"

"I'm being torn apart in there." Meredith sighed rubbing her stomach lightly.

Addison smiled sadly cocking her head to the side. "Sorry. Anything I can do?"

"Make anyone with the last name Shepherd or with the first name Donna leave." She said rubbing the bridge of her nose. Addison laughed light.

"Yeah… I would if I could. Just wait 'til they see me."

Meredith giggled and nodded leaning back in the chair. "I'm so tired."

"Then get some sleep."

"Addi, I can't sleep if I'm not in there and I can't sleep with all those people in there." She yawned. Standing up, she sighed pulling her shirt down more. "I'm fine."

"If something were to happen to you or the baby, Mark would shoot up this whole hospital and kill anyone who didn't make you sleep."

Meredith laughed as Addison stood up as well. She looked around tapping her cheek lightly with her finger as she tried to come up with a plan. "What time is it, Dr. Grey?" She asked with a smirk playing her lips. Meredith glanced at her watch.

"Noon, why?"

Addison smiled as Dr. Bailey walked by. "Oh, Dr. Bailey?" She said hurrying towards her. Her heels clicking against the tile. Meredith followed behind not quite as fast.

"What are you up to, Addi?" Meredith said looking at her suspiciously.

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery?" Bailey said resting her hand on her waist.

"Can you do us one more tiny little favor?"

"Depends…" She raised an eyebrow. "What will you do for me?"

"Please, Miranda… It's really important for Meredith to get her rest and she refuses to sleep anywhere but Mark's room… one tiny, tiny favor." Addison smiled.

Bailey sighed and nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

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"You all need to leave." Bailey announced walking to the room.

They all looked up with confused face. "What?"

"You heard me, you need to leave. Between noon and three pm, no patient's family is allowed in the patient's room."

"Since when?" Derek said standing up.

"Sine I said so you, damn fool." Derek gave her a look. Bailey gave him a stern look. "It's a new hospital policy, so start moving you 'pretty-boy' ass before I call security on you."

"I want to see Richard." Derek claimed.

"Get your ass out of my patient's room, Shepherd." Bailey said holding her hand out pointing at the room.

"Richard!" Derek called seeing Richard pass by. Richard looked up and walked towards the room.

"What can I do for you, Derek?" Richard asked.

"What the hell is this 'policy?'" Derek asked.

"Policy?" He asked giving Bailey a confused look.

"The one about all patient's family members having to leave so the patient's can rest." Bailey said giving him a stern look mouthing 'Meredith' behind the Shepherds' heads.

"Oh, right… So they can rest." Richard said nodding.

"But he's unconscious, for god's sake." Nancy said throwing her arms in the air.

"Sorry… Policy is policy you can come back at…" Bailey held up three fingers where nobody but the chief could see them. "Three."

"Dr. Webber?" Meredith said touching his arm.

"Yes, Dr. Grey?"

"Dr. Huston wanted to know if it was okay with you if I were to work on some charts."

"Meredith…" Bailey said sternly.

"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes looking at Richard. "After I finish my… other tasks."

Richard look totally confused but nodded anyway. "After you finish whatever else you need to do."

"Thank you, Dr. Webber." She walked back into the hall. "Yeah just leave them in here, Dr. Huston." She called.

"Meredith gets to stay." Derek asked.

"That's not fair." Kathleen said.

"Ah… Dr. Grey has an appointment with Dr. Montgomery." Bailey quickly said covering herself. "Now, if you would please leave. Visitor's hours are over until three."

They said their goodbyes to Mark and left. Bailey walked out to see Addison sitting by the nurses' station. "You owe me." She called before getting back to work.

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey." Addison called before standing up and walking to an exam room. "Coast is clear."

"Thank you, Addi. I really owe you guys."

Addison smiled. "Don't worry about it, Mer. Is someone bring you food?"

"Yeah, soon. They should be here soon." She mumbled pulling her shirt up. Addison put some gel on her stomach. "We were going to find out the sex of the baby." She said quietly her eyes closed. "We were going to tell you to tell us at the end of this week at our normal visit. He was so tired of calling the baby 'baby' and he had been bugging me for a month about it. Finally I gave in…" She sniffled. "And this happened." Tears collected in her eyes making small puddles in the corner of her tear ducts.

"Mer." Addison said taking her hand. "He will pull through this. He will be okay. By the end of this week, you will be holding hands and I will be telling you if you should buy boy or girl clothes. You have to stay strong and you can't push yourself, understand?"

She nodded slowly sniffling. "Thank you, Addi." Wiping her eyes, she looked at the ultrasound. "How's my baby doing?"

"You're baby is doing fabulous." Addison said wiping the gel off her stomach.

"Thank you."

"You have to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"That one, you'll eat. Two, you'll get some sleep. Three, you'll page me as soon as you wake up."

Meredith nodded giving her a soft smile as she helped her down.


	9. Visiting With Friends

She moaned as the door opened. She had been sleeping for a couple hours after eating lunch that Alex had brought in for her.

"Mer? You awake?" Her voice came.

"Yeah." She answered with a sharp inward breath before letting it out in a sigh. Sitting up higher in the seat, she rubbed her eyes letting them adjust to the light coming in from the hall. "What time is it?"

"Two." Izzie answered walking in as Meredith reached over and turned on the lamp.

"Are you off already?" She asked noticing that she was in street clothes.

"Yeah, the Chief cut us loose early so that the interns can get the feel for running the floor."

"Hmm… That pretty spells out disaster."

Izzie giggled sitting in one of the chairs. "Yeah… Alex, George, Addi, and Christina should be here soon." She nodded. "How's McSteamy doing?"

Meredith subconsciously stroked his hand. "Not too much improvement."

"How are you doing?"

"Tired I guess…"

"I can leave."

"No…" She yawned. "I should be getting up anyway. The policy will be running out soon."

"Policy?" Izzie asked.

"Long story." Meredith giggled. "But the Shepherd's will be back soon."

"Hmm… It's sucks doesn't it?" Izzie giggled.

"Yeah." Meredith answered lying her head down on the bed.

"We're here for you." Izzie said supportively touching her arm.

"Thanks, Izz."

The door opened. "Hey, Mer." Addison said walking into the room followed by George and Alex.

"Hey guys." Meredith yawned.

"Did you sleep like I told you to?" Addison asked sitting down.

"Yes… As well as I could."

"How you holding up, Mer?" George asked sitting down.

She shrugged. "As well as I can."

"How's little Alex?" Alex said with a smirk.

"I told you we're not naming the baby after you." Meredith giggled.

"But it would be perfect. He would have a name after the best person who ever lived." Alex said.

"Shut up, Evil Spawn." Christina said walking in.

"Hey, Christina." Meredith said.

"Hey, Mer." Christina sat down. "I have the most annoying patient ever."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh come on." Izzie laughed. "That is so not true."

"Barbie, face it now and I'll get Ken to by you a new Barbie Convertible."

"Well, at least you didn't get you're hair practically pulled by a woman in labor." Addison said.

"There is danger on the OBGYN floor." Christina laughed. "Who would know?"

Addison laughed stuffing a couple chips into her mouth.

"Once I got confused with my patients. I had gone home with morning sickness and Mark did a face job. I came back and could figure out who the hell it was. I almost called the freaking cops that some woman trying to get free medical care." Meredith sighed.

"Way to go, Mer." Alex laughed.

"Once Dr. Carson switched the patients and I almost cut off some guys supposedly cancerous testicles." George said causing everyone to laugh.

"You turned out to be a brilliant doctor." A voice came from the door in a dry, rude tone.

Everyone turned to see Derek standing there. "I can see that this policy doesn't affect those who work here."

"I had an appointment." Meredith explained.

"For…" He looked at his watch. "Three hours?"

Addison stood up and looked at her ex-husband. "Well, Derek, it seems that you haven't changed at all." She crossed her arms across her chest. "I hear you got a new girl in your life."

"Yeah, she's great… and will never cheat on me with my best friend."

Addison raised her eyebrow. "Well, if she did you would have no room to get mad."

"What are you trying to say?"

"On please, Derek, what you did is no better than what I did."

Derek took a step towards her. "What are you insinuating, Addison?"

"Well, you're just as adulterous as I was."

Derek's glare turned to ice, but said nothing.

"This is like… crack but so much better." Christina whispered to Meredith not removing her eyes from Derek and Addison. Meredith rubbed her stomach and rolled her eyes at her.

"Mark's family would like to see him, and I don't think they want to see you." He said coldly.

"Well, it's not three o'clock yet. Please leave."

"Then this whole room should be empty." He shot back.

"I asked them to come in and check Mark out." Dr. Harrington said lying. "I'm Dr. Harrington, Mark's doctor. Now will you please leave so these doctors can do their work?"

"Why are they in street clothes?" Derek shot back.

"These are called scrubs." Alex spoke up gesturing his clothes being the only one actually on-call, but he didn't mention that.

"They were on their way out when I asked them." Dr. Harrington said trying to hide her smirk.

"Why is Meredith her?" He asked after a few seconds thinking he beat the system.

"She's Mark's power of attorney. If we need to do something, we need her signature." Dr. Harrington answered.

Derek sighed trying to think of something else to ask. "Why are you here?" He asked Addison.

"I'm Meredith's doctor." Addison answered not skipping a beat.

"Now, Dr. Shepherd, I am not asking again. Leave, so these doctors can do their jobs."

Derek sighed, turned, and walked away. Dr. Harrington shut the door and the whole room irrupted into laughs.

"Well, I don't think I can do much for him." Alex laughed. "He doesn't look pregnant."

"Thank you, Karen." Addison said standing beside Dr. Harrington.

"Anytime, guys." She walked over to Mark's bed and pulled his eyelid up. Using the penlight, she ran the light across his eyes.

"Any response?" Meredith asked hopeful.

Dr. Harrington looked up and nodded. "A little more than before."

"That's good, Mer." Christina said.

Meredith forced a slight smile. "But not good enough." She sighed burring her head into her arms. Addison put her hand on her should.

"He'll get there, Mer. It's just a process."

Silence fell over the room as Meredith stayed with her head buried in her arms on the bed. Tears rolled off her cheeks, but nobody knew what to say.


	10. Little Miss Victoria

It was 3:01 when a knock came at the door. Meredith groaned lifting her head from the bed.

"Do you want me to get rid of them?" Alex asked rubbing her back.

"They won't listen." She sighed wiping her eyes and looked around the room. "Thank you, guys."

"You're going through a hard time, Mer. We're here for you." George said.

Meredith smiled lightly at them. "Well, thank you. I don't know what I would do with out you guys."

There was another knock at the door.

"Do you want us to stay?" Addison asked.

"I don't know." Meredith shrugged standing up.

"I'll stay with you, Mer." Christina offered. "I want to see if they're as bad as you say."

Meredith nodded as she stood up. Addison gave her a hug. "Remember what I said. Don't put too much stress on the baby of yours."

"I won't."

"And if they get too hard on you, page me or Bailey. We'll take care of them."

"Thanks, Addi."

Alex and George kissed her cheek and said their goodbyes. Izzie gave her hug and said she hoped everything would go okay. Meredith walked to the door to see the Shepherds and Donna crowded around.

"Sorry, we were… talking about something." She mumbled some sort of excuse for how long it took for her to get to the door.

"See you later, Mer." Alex said as he pushed past them. George and Izzie followed close behind.

"Remember what I said, Mer. I mean it." Addison said sternly and Meredith nodded. "I'll be back later with some food, okay?" Meredith nodded again.

"Bye, Addi." She said softly.

"Hello, Addison." Carol said kind of coldly.

"Hi, Mrs. Shepherd." Addison said with a fake smile before looking back to Meredith. "Page if you need anything."

Meredith just nodded giving her a small wave as she walked down the hall. Walking back into the room, she gave a tired look at Christina. The Shepherds and Donna followed her in.

"Um, this is my friend, Christina." Meredith explained noticing the curious looks at her person.

They all mumbled some sort of hello as they sat down in the various seats throughout the room. Thankfully for Meredith, she already had a seat, so she was able to sit closer to the bed than before.

"How are you, Christina?" Derek asked.

Christina raised her eyebrow. "Christina? Feeling brave are we?" She said coldly.

"What?" He asked leaning back in his chair.

"I'm just simply saying that my name is Dr. Yang to you."

"Christina, not now." Meredith whispered. Christina just nodded not taking her glare from Derek.

"Alright, Dr. Yang, how are you?"

"Just peachy." She replied.

"So Derek you worked with… Dr. Yang?" Carol said breaking the silence.

"Yes. Actually, I was the best man at her wedding. Isn't that right, Dr. Yang?"

Meredith eyes grew wide as she looked over Christina, who was obviously fuming with anger.

"You're so damn lucky we're in a hospital and that I don't kill you right here and now." Her words showed just how much she hated Derek.

"Christina…" Meredith said quietly and glared at Derek.

"So, Meredith, when is my grandson due?" Donna asked breaking the tension in the room.

"Uh, we don't know if it's a boy." Meredith said. Donna laughed.

"There hasn't been a girl Sloan in four generations."

"The baby is due on March 15th." Meredith answered rubbing her stomach.

"I can't believe he didn't tell us." Carol commented.

"Why wouldn't he? I mean we're his family." Kathleen asked.

"Maybe he was ashamed." Madison suggested raising her eyebrow at Meredith.

Both Christina and Meredith looked at each other in shock.

"Mark was not ashamed." Christina spoke up first. Her voice was stern and serious.

They looked at her for a second but said nothing.

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They sat in silence while the rest of the room talked.

"Dr. Grey?" Olivia called from the door. "You have a visitor."

Meredith nodded struggling to get to her feet. "Who is it?"

"It's Miss. Victoria." She answered. Meredith smiled as she walked to the door.

"Well if it isn't little Miss. Victoria." She smiled down at the young six year old sitting in the wheelchair. "I have it from here."

Victoria's head was wrapped in bandages. Her nose was bandaged and various stitches covered different parts of her face. On one of her legs was a metal that she would wear on that leg for the rest of her life. She had an IV running out of her other arm.

"Hi Dr. Meredith." Victoria smiled brightly. Her blue eyes brightened as Meredith crouched down to her level.

"How are you feeling, Sweetie?" Meredith asked.

"My booboos hurt." Victoria said sadly.

"How about I see what I can do about that?" She struggled to the upright position. "Olivia can I have Miss. Victoria's chart?"

"Yes, Dr. Grey." Olivia said.

"Thanks." Meredith smiled taking it. Flipping it open, she read over the long list of different pain meds.

"We're Dr. Christina and Dr. Mark."

Meredith looked down at the young girl. "Well… Dr. Mark… he's hurt." She crouched down to him. "But don't worry. The doctors are going to make him all better just like we made you all better."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Meredith smiled.

"Can I feel the baby?"

"Yeah." She moved the chart so she could reach out and touch. The small hand rubbed over her stomach as Victoria mumbled a few words to the baby as she did everyday.

"She says she wants Dr. Mark to get better too." Victoria said confidently.

"I want Dr. Mark to get better too." Meredith smiled at her. "How about I make you booboos hurt less?"

Victoria nodded as Meredith pushed the breaks off of the wheelchair and wheeled her into Mark's room. Victoria gasped. "Dr. Mark looks really hurt."

"I know, Sweetie, but he'll be okay." Meredith assured.

"Hey, Miss. Victoria." Christina said getting up.

"Dr. Christina!" Victoria squealed. "Guess what?"

"What?" Christina said crouching down to Victoria's level.

"Mr. Mc-Fat-CT-Guy took pictures of my head."

Christina laughed as Meredith glared at her.

"You taught her that?" Meredith asked with wide eyes.

Christina nodded laughing. "Did you do what I told you to do?"

"Yep. He said he like chocolate cake bestest." Victoria said smiling with pride.

"Don't listen to anything Dr. Christina tells you to do." Meredith laughed.

"Okay, Dr. Meredith." Victoria nodded as Meredith searched through the drawers of the meds cart.

"Here we are. This should help, Miss. Victoria." Meredith said putting the needle into the port. "Let's get you back up to your room so you can rest."

"Can I visit Dr. Mark when he wakes up?"

Meredith nodded. "I'm sure he'll love to see you."

"Bye Dr. Christina." Victoria called as Meredith wheeled her to the door.

"Bye Miss. Victoria." Christina waved.

"Olivia, can you take Miss. Victoria back to her room?"

"Yes, Dr. Grey."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miss. Victoria."

"Bye, Dr. Meredith."

Meredith watched her be wheeled away. Letting out a sigh, she turned and walked back into the room.

"Poor girl." Donna was first to speak up.

"You guys seem close." Stephanie pointed out.

Meredith and Christina nodded.

"What is she? Another one of your children?" Nancy said.

Meredith looked up at her with a shocked expression. "She's a patient! She's mine, Marks, and Christina's patient."

"What happened to her?" Carol asked.


	11. His Eyes

Meredith opened her mouth to say something, but Christina cut her off.

"I'm sorry, but we can't discuss it. You know doctor/patient confidentiality."

"Oh… Sorry." Carol mumbled.

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"It's almost five o'clock." Bailey announced coming into the room.

"What?" Donna said in confusion.

"At five o'clock all visitors have to go home." Derek answered.

"Everyone as in everyone except those with get special treatment? Or everyone as in everyone?" Kathleen asked.

"Everyone as in everyone." Meredith answered. "Thank you, Dr. Bailey."

"I just have to check on his stitches." Bailey said walking over to the bed. "How are you feeling, Meredith?"

Meredith shrugged but forced a smile. "I'm fine, Dr. Bailey."

"Of course you are." She said in an unbelieving tone. "Chief wanted me to tell you that you are to take off from work until Dr. Sloan wakes up…"

"Yes, Dr. Bailey."

"And if you don't start getting some more sleep then you'll be off until that baby is born."

"But…"

"No buts, Grey. It's always one of mine to try to put up a fight. Always one of mine." Bailey said shaking her head. Meredith didn't bother putting up anymore of a protest knowing she wouldn't win. "Alright, I want to see this room clear when I get back here at five."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey." Christina and Meredith answered while the other stayed quiet.

"How come Dr. Bailey can order people around?" Nancy asked.

"Because, she's Dr. Bailey." Christina answered shrugging.

"Because she's scary. You don't want to mess with Dr. Bailey." Derek said.

"But she can't do anything to you, Derek. You don't work for her anymore." Madison stated.

"I never did work for her. I was her superior even when I did work here." Derek said.

"Then why did you listen to her?" Stephanie laughed.

"Because you don't disobey Bailey. She even kept Richard in line. She kept us all in line." Derek answered. "She's Dr. Bailey."

"We better get going." Donna said standing up. She gave her son a quick kiss on the cheek as did Carol, Nancy, Kathleen, Madison, and Stephanie.

"Goodbye, Meredith." Donna said briefly as the others headed out the door.

"Goodbye." Meredith answered. Once they were gone, Meredith looked at Christina. "As bad as you thought?"

"Definitely." Christina nodded. "Are you going home?"

"No, I think I'll be able to stay in here if I ask the right people."

"Mer, you have to go home. It's been too long since you slept in your own bed."

"What if he wakes up?" She almost yelled. "Or what if something happens?" Her voice grew quieter as she shook her head. "I can't just leave. He's my fiancé and I love him too much to leave him alone at a time like this."

"Okay, Mer, calm down."

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"Hey, Addi." She yawned pulling herself from the drowsy state that she was in.

"Hey… How you holding up?" She asked rubbing her back.

"Tired… The baby is kicking like hell. I think he or she knows that Daddy is in trouble."

Addison smiled sadly. "He's going to be fine, Mer."

"Thank you, Addi, for everything."

"You're welcome, Mer. Don't think anything of it."

"Mark and I will take you out somewhere nice when this all clears up."

Addison giggled. "I'll hold you to that."

Meredith smiled sadly. "I hope you do."

"Is everything okay? I mean besides worrying about Mark."

"Just this stuff with his family and everything… the baby. I'm worried about everything that's going on."

"Mer, don't worry about the Shepherds." Meredith nodded slowly letting her eyes shut slowly. "I'm going to let you get some sleep. Which I advise you do."

"Alright, Addi. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. Call if you need anything."

Meredith nodded as Addison walked out. She took his hand and rested it on her stomach with her hand over his. She started to drift off again when she felt something. Something she didn't expect. His hand tightened cupping her stomach more and rubbed it slightly. Her eyes opened quickly and she searched his face. Tears came to her eyes as his eyes fluttered open. "Mark? Mark can you hear me?"


	12. Awake

Her hands shook lightly as he squeezed her hand. Her eyes went between Dr. Harrington and his face as Harrington shook the light in front of his eyes.

"And can you tell me your birthday?" She asked writing something down on the chart.

"June 6th 1969." He answered in a tired voice. "Are we done, Karen? I am really tired."

Dr. Harrington raised her eyebrow and sighed. "Sloan, do you know what you've put this girl through." She gestured Meredith. "You owe it to her to make sure that everything is fine."

Mark looked over at Meredith and smiled.

"So everything is okay?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah. He never had any brain abnormalities so there's less chance of any brain damage. But in the morning, I want to get another MRI and CT to be sure."

"Thank you for coming in, Dr. Harrington."

"It's fine. I'll see you in the morning." She said before walking up.

She looked back up at her fiancé to find his staring at her. "Are you okay? You don't seem okay." He asked.

She giggled rubbing his hand. "I'm supposed to be asking you that."

"Well, I'm asking you that. Tell me what's going on, Mer." He said patting the bed beside him.

She smiled taking off her shoes and climbed into bed with him. "It's not a big deal."

"What is it?" He asked again burying his head in her hair.

"We had to call you mother, and she brought everyone."

"Everyone?" He asked picking his head up.

"Derek came, his sisters, his mom, and your mom."

"Oh god. I am so sorry, Mer."

She kissed his cheek. "We'll talk about it later. You need to get some sleep. And I'm tired. That chair is like a freaking rock." She explained as she rolled over.

He chuckled. "When was the last time you went home?"

"Not in a very, very long time."

"Have you left this hospital since I was in the accident?"

She cringed, but smiled waiting for him to be upset with her. "No.." She answered meekly.

"Meredith! You're pregnant. You need to worry about the baby…"

She cut him off planting a passionate kiss on his lips. "The baby is fine. I've had a round the clock OB/GYN. Now, go to sleep."

He sighed. "Okay."

She rolled back over and he wrapped his arm around her resting his hand on her stomach.

"I love you." He whispered kissing her cheek.

"I love you too."

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She was jolted from sleep when someone loudly cleared their throat. Lifting her head, she rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. After blinking a couple of times, the outline of five people came in clearer. When she realize who they were, she quickly sat up which caused her to get a dizzy.

"What's going on here?" Kathleen asked.

"Why weren't we called when he woke up?" Nancy asked.

"We're his family. We should have been called." Madison stated bitterly.

"What's going on?" Mark mumbled tugging on Meredith's waist a little before looking up at the people.

"Are we interrupting something?" Donna, who had just come into the room asked.

"Only my sleep." Mark groaned letting his head fall back to the pillow.

"Aren't you going to say hello to your mothers, Markus." Carol said sharply.

"Hello. Now go. It's too early in the morning. I'm trying to sleep." He moaned burying his head into the pillow. "Lay back down, Meredith."

She didn't. The deadly glares she was getting from his family made her too uncomfortable to do so. Mark lifted his head again and looked between Meredith and his family. "Goodbye. Come back later. I'm too tired, right now."

"Fine." Donna sighed. "We'll be back later."

"Lay back down, Mer." Mark sighed shutting his eyes as his family walked out. The ladies left, but Derek stayed back.

"I'll be right there." He said to his mother before looking at Meredith. "Meredith, can I speak to you?"

She slowly nodded as she lifted Mark's arm off of her. "I'll be right back."

Slipping out of the bed, she felt a wave of nausea come over her. Using the nightstand as support, she regained her balance. After a few seconds, she felt good enough to walk and headed to the door.

"What is it, Derek?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"When did he wake up?"

"Last night."

"Why didn't you call us? We've been so worry about him."

"Last time I checked he's my fiancé. I'm carrying his baby. I think I deserve some time alone with him, don't I?"

"My mother and Mama Sloan have been going crazy with worry."

"And you think I haven't? I haven't left this hospital in forever."

"You could have called to say he was okay."

"So what? You could rush in wake him up. He needed rest Derek. He didn't need all of New York in his room."

"You're being selfish, Meredith."

"I'm being selfish for wanting my fiancé to be okay? When was the last time you even bother to check on your 'brother?' He had to find out from the Chief that you were engaged."

"It's not like he told me that you guys were engaged and having a baby!"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why he didn't tell you guys that. But that's not the point. The point is that he's awake. Now if you will excuse me." She turned, opened the door, and headed in.


	13. Ashamed?

"How bad have they been?" He asked as she moved back into bed without opening his eyes.

"Who?"

"My family." He answered burying his face in her hair.

"Not… too bad."

"Liar." He mumbled sleepily. "You're not good at lying."

She giggled. "I know." She intertwined her fingers with his as they lied on her stomach. "Let's just say, there's been tons of surprises."

"My mother didn't show you the picture did she?"

"The picture?" She giggled. "No, but I'll be sure to ask her about it."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, Mer." He whispered after a few seconds.

"For what?"

"For worrying you so much."

"Don't ever do it again."

"And I'm sorry for my family. I'm sure they did something."

She giggled. "We'll talk about it later. Just go back to sleep."

He lean forward and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too."

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"Mark, it's good to see you're still with us." Addison said walking into the room.

"Afraid I wasn't going to make it?" He asked.

"No, I was sure you would survive the accident. I was more worried about the Shepherds."

Mark laughed. "Well, they haven't been back since this morning."

"Which reminds me I still yell at you." Meredith said pulling her hand from his.

"What did I do?" Mark asked raising his eyebrow.

"It's what you didn't do." Addison said with a smiled as she sat down next to the bed in the chair Meredith had been sleeping in since the accident. "God, these things are rocks."

"I told you." Meredith giggled before getting serious. "Why the hell didn't you tell your family I was pregnant?"

"I… ah… I…"

"You what? Because of you I've endured hell." She slapped his arm lightly.

"We had never discussed it and with Derek, I thought I'd hold off for a while. I never thought something like this would happen…"

She gave him a stern look. "Well it did happen." She said glaring at him. After a second, the anger had passed as all her moods seemed to. "I forgive you." She sighed.

Mark smiled and kissed her cheek.

There was a knock at the door. The person didn't bother to wait and the door opened. Addison quickly stood up having a better view of the door than Meredith and Mark. Soon, the Shepherds, Donna, and a mystery woman were standing in front of them.

"Did bother knocking I see?" Mark said with a fake smile.

"We knocked." Nancy pointed out.

Addison and Meredith both shifted uncomfortable as gazes swept over them.

"Well, Mark, I'll see you later." Addison said.

"Wait, Addi!" Meredith yelled jumping off the bed.

"Where are you going?" Mark asked.

"Addi and I were going to get lunch." She lied. "I'm starving. Need anything?" Mark looked at her strangely but shook his head. She quickly kissed his cheek. "Let me know if you do." She tried to bend down to pick up her shoes, but stomach prevented her to. "Addi! Come pick up my shoes!" Meredith whined mumbling something about 'stupid huge stomach."

Addison tried not to laugh as she picked up the shoe.

"Bye." They both called and hurried out leaving a confused Mark.

"What did you guys do to my fiancé?" He asked giving them a suspicious look.

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"Meredith, are you going to follow me all day?" Addison asked.

"Nope, just 'til Alex gets here. Then I'll follow him."

"Why don't you just go back in there?"

"And get eaten alive? No way."

Addison laughed. "Are you chicken, Grey?"

"I think I'm just going to lay low until they leave Seattle."

"Then you and Mark can get back to normal?"

"Yep."

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"Come on, Mark." Derek said agitated.

Mark gave a sideways glance at him. "Shut up."

He stared at the chart in his hands.

"You're stalling, Mark." Kathleen pointed out.

"Why didn't you tell me that Meredith was pregnant?" Donna asked.

"Or that you were engaged!" Carol asked.

"I need to figure this out."

He stared down in the chart. They didn't need to know he was looking at a crossword puzzle to avoid talking to them.

"You're not working right now, so put the chart away!" Madison almost yelled.

Mark sighed flipping the crossword over and hiding it behind the other papers. "This is a very important chart." He glanced at the name. Who John Peek was? He didn't know, but they didn't know that.

"Mark! We are your family. That's more important than that chart."

Mark let out a groan. "Johnny is very important."

"Markus Sloan!" Donna said sternly.

"Fine, _mother._" He shut the chart. "What is so important that Johnny has to wait?"

"Why the hell didn't you tell us about the engagement and pregnancy?" Stephanie said in an annoyed tone.

"Cause it wasn't your business." Mark pointed out.

"What has this girl done to you?" Carol asked. "You used to tell us everything."

"Mer has nothing to do with this."

"Well, it seems that you used to tell your family everything. It's only natural to assume your reluctant behaviors have something to do with the new girl in your life." The mystery woman sitting next to Derek said in a know-it-all voice.

"Who the hell are you? And why the hell are you in me room?" He yelled looking it to woman strangely.

"Thank you, Marissa." Donna said.

"You should listen to her she's a psychiatrist." Kathleen said.

"So are you. It doesn't mean I listen to you." Mark argued. "And I don't need some crazy psychiatrist who decides to come into some random patient's room to tell me what to do. I mean. Really. Who are you?"

"Marissa is my fiancé."

"Good for you. I don't need advise on my love life that you have nothing about." Mark said rolling his eyes.

"Don't yell at Marissa!" Derek yelled.

"Don't blame her for your mistakes, Markus." Donna hollered.

"What mistakes?" Mark yelled back.

"Oh please like you meant to get her pregnant." Kathleen said dryly.

"I don't need your psychoanalysis either, Kathleen." Mark replied harshly.

"Obviously you're ashamed of something or you would have told your family." Marissa commented in a doctoring tone.

"Thank you, Marissa." Carol said. "You should listen to her, Mark."

Mark's eyes flashed cold. "I'm not ashamed of a damn thing. And I don't have to answer to you."

There was a knock on the already open door. They all turned to see Dr. Harrington standing there.

"Hey Karen." Mark said.

"Hey. Is Meredith in here?"

"No, she left a while ago. Why?"

Karen looked perplex for a second then a little distress. "Okay, thanks. We're going to get you to CT soon." She turned to walk away.

"Why? What's wrong, Karen?"

Karen faked a smile as she turned around and shrugged. "Just need to… talk."

"Alright, what the hell is all this yelling?" Bailey said coming into the room beside Karen. Mark gave Karen one last curious look, before she walked away. He was just about to answer, when Derek jumped in.

"Just a family quarrel." He said giving her the McDreamy smile. She didn't look phased as she gave him a cold glare.

"If I hear the 'quarrel' one more time, Shepherd, I will have you thrown out of this hospital faster than you can flash me that damn smile. This is a hospital, for Christ sake." He turned mumbling something about stupid family members.

Mark's phone started to ring on the nightstand. His family watched curiously as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey."

"Hey. I'm heading home to shower and change and all that. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Did Karen find you?"

"Why would she be looking for me?"

"I don't know. Maybe just a patient. Anyway, try to get some sleep too."

"I'm not tired. Just hungry."

He chuckled. "I thought you already ate."

"Oh, yeah. I did… but, uh, hospital food doesn't fill me up anymore.

"Is that right?"

She giggled. "Yeah. I got to go. Karen's waving me over."

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."


	14. Why Me?

"Hey, Karen." Meredith smiled as she walked up to him.

"Hi, Meredith." She gave her a sad smile.

"What's wrong?" The smile didn't fool her for a second.

"Come here. We need to talk about something."

"What? Did something show up on Mark's scan? What's wrong, Karen?" She said more strongly as Karen led her into the doctor's break room.

"It has nothing to do with Mark."

She let out a sigh of relief but instantly tightened back up. "Then what's wrong?"

"Meredith, it's your mother."

"My… mother?" She asked slowly.

"The nursing home called. You mother collapsed in her room and hit her head pretty bad on the bed. They brought her in by ambulance. As routine, we did a CT… We found a tumor. Meredith, I'm so sorry."

The words she said after that carried no meaning or so it seemed. All the words became distorted as Karen tried to explain to the tumor to her. The whole time the only thought going through her head was _"Why me? Oh god, why does it always happen to me?"_

Hot tears rolled off her cheeks as she looked at the other doctor. "Is it malignant or benign?"

"I'm not sure. I want your permission to do a biopsy. The sooner we do this…"

"The more aggressive we can be." She nodded. "Why does this always happen to me? My fiancé just woke up and my mother might have brain cancer."

Karen hugged her. "I'm so sorry."

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When he noticed her bag in the corner, he figured she'd be coming back by the room to get her car keys. But it had been nearly twenty minutes since they got off the phone and she hadn't shown up. His family was drilling him about his life, so it was probably for the best that she hadn't shown up.

Dr. Bailey had come in and informed him of the grim news that he wouldn't be dismissed for the next two weeks as a precaution. He wasn't sure how long his family would be staying but he was sure that he wouldn't like the number he heard.

He was only half listening as Marissa and Derek gushed over how the wedding planning was going. It was odd how his family was so anxious to hear about how Derek's wedding was going and so not anxious to hear about his. It really didn't matter too much to him, because to him all that mattered in five months, on his wedding day was that at the end of the day, he and Meredith were married.

The door opened and the room hushed and looked towards the door. Meredith walked in quietly with her head down hoping nobody would notice she had been crying.

"Mer, is something wrong?" Mark asked.

She struggled to get the bag off the floor. "No, I'm fine." Her voice wavered slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

She looked up at him and have him a small smile. "Nothing. I just have something I have to take care of."

"What's going on? You can tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it. I'll be back in a couple hours." She kissed his cheek. "I love you." She whispered into his ear.

"I love you too."

She kissed him really quick before grabbing her bag. She was about to leave, but Derek stopped her.

"Meredith…"

"What? What do you want Derek?" She snapped.

"I just wanted you to meet my fiancée, Marissa."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Hi… Bye."

She turned on her heel and walked out.

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The door opened and Karen walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mark." She said looking around the room still full of people.

"It's fine." He sighed. "My results back?"

"Yep. Everything looks fine."

"So I can get out of here?" His eyes pleaded with her.

"No such lucky, Mark. Two weeks."

"You love torturing me don't you?"

"I live for it. How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"I've heard that word too much today. I think Meredith is rubbing off on you, Sloan."

He chuckled. "What can I say?"

"Is she alright?"

"Ah, why wouldn't she be?" He asked looking confused. "I mean she looked upset when she came in three hours ago, but she wouldn't say why."

"She's probably just hormonal." Nancy said rolling her eyes tired of hearing about Meredith constantly.

"She didn't tell you?" Karen asked raising her eyebrow.

"Tell me what? What's going on, Karen?"

"I've said too much already."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Mark. I could loose my license if I say anything else." She quickly walked out before Mark could say anything.

"Well, Mark, I guess you're fiancée doesn't tell you everything. Now does she?" Madison said.

"Makes you wonder what else she hasn't told you." Stephanie said raising an eyebrow.

"Meredith wouldn't keep things from me. I'm sure it's not a big deal."


	15. The Baby!

Tears rolled off her cheeks as she stood under the warm water. Slowly she turned the water off and stepped out onto the bathmat. Wrapping the towel around her body, she stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes were a little red, but hardly noticeable. Rubbing her eyes, she let out a sigh.

"_This is supposed to be the best time of my life." _She thought. _"This isn't supposed to happen this way. I should be concerning myself with cribs and wedding dresses not my mother's biopsy and my fiancé's pain in the ass family."_

Walking into her bedroom, she noticed her phone beeping indicating a voicemail. She trudged over to it and got into her voicemail.

"_Hey, Babe." _Mark's voice came. _"Just checking in with you. Karen seemed concerned about you. Everyone's out getting something to eat right now. Addison was looking for you too… Anyway, call me back. I just want to be sure everything is okay. Love you. Bye."_

She sighed shutting the phone and quickly changed. She didn't want to dump this all on him, but she needed someone to talk to. Grabbing her bag, she walked out.

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By the time she got to the hospital, it was nearly six. Knowing that the five pm rule as far as visitation didn't apply on weekends and families could stay until nine o'clock, she knew that the Shepherds and Donna probably weren't done visiting Mark for the day. Deciding to stop at her mother's room, she made her way down the hall wondering what condition her mother would be in. Between just coming out of surgery and her Alzheimer's, she probably wasn't too lucid.

Feeling timid and child-like, she peeked around the corner into her mother's room. She was lying back awake and staring out the window.

"Mom?" She called timidly as she walked in.

Ellis's head whipped around. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Her voice was cautious and slow.

"I told you not to bother me at the hospital!" She yelled. Meredith back towards the wall a little. "And what the hell happened to your stomach? Have you been sleeping around, you little whore?"

"No, Mom. We discussed this. Remember?"

"Get out of her! I don't want to see you."

"Mom…"

"I said leave. I can't deal with you. Not here. This is my place of work. I don't need you walking around here embarrassing me just like your father always did." She let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, what a piece of work. The two of you. Always walking around here pretending like your good enough to be part of this family. To carry a name like mine. Yeah, what a piece of work the two of you are."

"Mom…" Tears burned her eyes.

"GO!" She yelled as the monitor beeped showing that her heart rate was elevating.

The door burst open and a nurse hurried in.

"Dr. Grey, wait outside. We need to get her heart rate under control." The nurse said.

But Meredith didn't even hear her. She was already gone.

Tears rolled off her cheeks for the second time in an hour as she walked down the hall. She couldn't breathe. She needed to get away. She needed to be in his arms. She hurried down the hall towards his room.

When she opened the door, she noticed he wasn't alone. Donna and all the Shepherds looked up at her as she stood in the doorway. Quickly, she wiped her eyes.

"Sorry… I didn't know you had company." She said trying to steady her voice and get her breathing under control.

"What's wrong?" Mark quickly asked.

"It's… It can wait." She trying to stop her tears, but her body didn't seem to agree with doing. "We can talk later."

"Mer…" Mark insisted.

Karen came up beside Meredith. "Meredith?"

She turned to face her. "Are the…?"

"Mer, I think it's best if we go somewhere in talk."

"What's going on?" Mark called from the bed.

"Mer, I think you should sit down." Karen offered touching her hand.

"Tell me what the results said."

"Meredith…"

"Just tell me!"

"We shouldn't do this in the middle of the hall."

"Karen, don't beat around the bush with me."

"Come on, Mer. Sit down." Karen said again.

"What's going on?" Mark asked again.

"Tell me!" Meredith almost yelled.

Karen looked around at the curious eyes watching from Mark's room and the hospital hallways and nurses' station.

"Is it malignant or benign?" Meredith asked low and harsh.

"We haven't gotten the results back… but it looks… Meredith, this is…"

"Just tell me, god damn it!"

"It looks malignant." She said quietly.

Tears rushed to her eyes. Karen grabbed her shoulders steadying her feet. "Meredith… We have to wait to be sure. It's no time for a rash decision. Okay, Mer. Breathe."

She started to sob as Karen helped her lower her to the ground right inside Mark's room. She quickly pulled the door shut.

"Meredith…" Mark said sitting up. He winced in pain, but didn't sit back.

"What the hell is going on?" Donna said.

"I can't breathe." She panted as she grabbed fistfuls of Karen's lab coat.

"Breathe Mer. Deep breaths." Karen coach.

"What's going on?" Derek yelled standing up as Meredith hunched over her stomach in pain.

"Get out! Get the hell out! All of you." Karen yelled. She kicked the door open. "Page Addison Montgomery." She yelled to passing nurses. "Stat!" The Shepherds quickly filed out as Mark tried to pull himself out of bed. "Mark, get back into bed."

"No. Meredith is in trouble."

"We don't need you to get hurt, Mark. Get your ass back in bed. Meredith, lay back."

"The baby!" Meredith kept saying.

"Everything is going to be okay. You need to relax." She soothed. "Where's Addison?" She yelled out the door.

"Karen, what is going on?" Mark asked feeling helpless.

"It's her mother…" Karen answered in a low voice.


	16. I Want It

Panic struck her as Karen looked down at her. She could hear Mark's frantic words of worry from the bed and Karen's attempts to keep both of the calm and Mark in his bed. But nothing seemed to sink in. So many thoughts were swirling around her head. The door opened and Addison walked in. Her face fell as she took in the scene.

Addison keeled onto the floor. "Meredith, what's wrong?"

Tears rolled off her cheeks. "What's wrong with the baby?" She sobbed.

Karen stood up and walked

"Meredith, calm down. Look at me." She grabbed the side of her face. "We're going to get a bed and get an ultrasound."

She just nodded.

"We need to get Bailey in here." Karen yelled.

"Meredith." Mark kept saying trying to sit up.

"Sit back, Mark." Karen pushed him back some.

Addison used her foot and pushed the door open. "Get me a gurney!" She yelled. "Stay with us Meredith. Just keep calm and don't try to get up."

Fear struck as the meaning of Addison's words hit her harder than a brick wall. Her head fell to the side in her eyes locked with Mark's. Her jaw quivered as she tried to hold back the tears.

"It'll be okay, Mer." He said softly.

She took a deep breath. "I love you." She mouthed as a nurse pushed a gurney into the room right next to Mark's bed.

He gave her a reassuring smile before her eyes went back to Addison. "What's going on, Addi?"

"The baby is probably in distress. But it's going to be okay, okay?"

She slowly nodded as Addison, Karen, and the nurse helped her to her feet and supported her as they went to the bed. Meredith's hand instantly locked with Mark's.

"We'll get her back to you as soon as possible, Mark." Addison assured kicking the breaks off of the gurney.

Mark nodded and kissed Meredith's hand before they wheeled her out of the room where she was met with curious gazes and looks. She turned her head away from the Shepherds. Addison glared at them and fixed a blanket around Meredith's body. Letting out a deep sigh, Meredith let her eyes close. Addison took her hand supportively.

"Don't worry about anything, Mer."

She opened her eyes and looked at her friend. "It's kind of hard not to."

Addison gave her a sad smile and a squeeze on the hand. "Let's get her up to the OB/GYN floor."

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It didn't take long for a knock to come from the door.

"Go away!" He yelled. "I don't feel like talking."

"Mark…" Kathleen said opening the door. "You don't have the right to be mad at us. We didn't do anything."

"You definitely haven't made anything easier for Mer." He growled.

"The baby is just in distress. It's not a big deal." Nancy said in her OB/GYN tone that she used on patients.

"Not a big deal?" He yelled. "That is my baby! This isn't some random patient who we see once, hope we don't kill, and move on. This is mine and Meredith's baby. So don't feed me that crap that it's not a big deal, Nancy." He took a deep breath. "Now, leave. I don't want to talk."

"Mark, we have done nothing to deserve this." Donna said coming to the front of the group.

"I said I don't want to talk. So please shut the door."

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Meredith stayed as still as she could as Addison prepared the ultrasound. Her tear ducts had seemed to have dried up at some point. She watched Addison's movements and could tell she was holding something back. Every time there was something she wanted to say, she would push her hair back behind her ear.

"What is it, Addi?" She asked shutting her eyes.

"What?" Her eyes moved from the machine to Meredith and back.

"What do you want to ask?"

"It's… It's nothing, Mer." Again, she tucked the hair behind her ear.

"Just ask it." Her voice was slightly irritated.

"What happened back there, Mer? It wasn't the Shepherd's was it?" After a second, she shook her head, but still said nothing. "You don't have to tell me. We'll talk about it later… when the dust settles or whatever."

Meredith nodded. "I just want to be sure the baby is okay."

"And we're going to do just that."

With a couple taps on the keyboard and a squirt of gel on Meredith's stomach, Addison moved the paddled around. "There's the baby, Mer."

Meredith opened her eyes and relief washed over her. The baby was still there. "How is it?" She asked.

"It's going to be fine, Mer. I'm just going to give you a mild sedative to keep you calm."

Meredith smiled looking at her baby. "Thank you, Addi."

"But, I am officially putting you on bed rest for the next two days." Meredith didn't say anything. She had too much to worry about to fight. "Knowing you, you're going to stay with Mark regardless, so I'll get you a bed in the same room. And you are not to leave without a wheelchair. Understand?" Silently, she nodded. "Alright, let's get you back to Mark before he has an anxiety attack."

Meredith smiled briefly as Addison got a wheelchair, so it would be easier to navigate her around the hospital, since she officially didn't need a full bed that much.

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Addison knocked softly.

"I said I don't want to talk, Mom!" He yelled from the other side of the door.

Smiling, she pushed the door open. "Guess again."

"Oh." He instantly felt relief wash over as he saw Meredith being wheeled in with an IV hooked into her arm. "How are both of you?"

"We're fine as we can be." Meredith said forcing a little smile.

"We're on bed rest for the next two days. We are resting, right Mer?" Addison said.

"Right. That too." Meredith nodded with little enthusiasm as Addison helped her into the bed next to Mark's.

"So everything is okay?"

"Yeah, the baby was in some distress due to its mother's stress, but we've got her mildly sedated. But, anyway, I'll leave you guys alone for a while. Both of you stay in bed."

They both just nodded as she walked out pulling the door. They both stayed where they sat for a few seconds before Meredith slipped out of bed taking the IV stand with her.

"Mer, Addi said to stay in bed." He said concerned.

"I'm a big girl. I'll be fine." She answered with a shaky voice.

He watched cautiously as she walked shakily over to his bed. Slowly, she climbed into the bed beside him resting her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped one arm around her back pulling her closer to him and rubbed her stomach with the other. After taking a few deep breaths of his scent, she relaxed against him.

They stay silent for a long while. Her eyes closed for a long while before opening, she would tense up for a second, before relaxing and letting her eyes shut again. It didn't go unnoticed by Mark who was watching her intently.

"What's wrong, Babe?" His voice was low and cautious not wanting her to get upset again.

She opened her eyes again, but didn't say anything for a few moments. "You shouldn't worry. I don't want you to be worried when you're recovering."

"Mer, not knowing is worrying me. I could have lost you and the baby today. How can I not worry, if you don't tell me?" She stayed quiet again. "You can tell me anything, Mer."

"I know…"Her voice trailed off. "My mother… She has a brain tumor…" She sniffled. "Karen thinks it's malignant."

"Mer… I'm so sorry." He hugged her closer. He knew the relationship that she had with her mother. It was much like the one with his father. And even though he hated his father during his childhood for being absent and never caring about his son, when he did it still hurt.

"And all I could think about after the ultrasound was 'Oh god just let it be malignant. Let it be cancer." This caught Mark off guard a little as Meredith broke down into tears. "What kind of person am I? What kind of person wishes their mother has cancer?"

"Mer…" He didn't know what to stay.

"It hurt at first. I don't want my mother to die." She cried. "But she had Alzheimer's. She can't remember anything. She doesn't recognize me. She was such a great surgeon… Now she's…" She buried her head in Mark's arm.

"I understand, Mer. You don't want her to suffer." He said quietly.

She didn't answer as she continued to cry.


	17. Chart

She fell asleep in his arms, but he wasn't able to fall asleep. He wondered what would be coming their way over the next few weeks. It was common knowledge among all doctors that with brain tumors it was hard to tell where they would be going. He didn't know any of the specifics, but the fact of it was no matter where it was if the tumor grew it could push the brain dangerously close to the skull. If it was brain cancer, they could do many treatments depending on how long it had gone undiagnosed, where it was located, and what it was pushing up against. Meredith had been too upset to talk about it nor did he dare to ask.

He wasn't sure how Meredith would start coping with all of this. Everything was flying at all her in all directions. First his accident, then his family, now this… He knew she was under a lot of stress and that wasn't good for the baby, but he wasn't sure what to do. He was bed bound and not even in his own bed. But he definitely knew he had to do something. He loved her far too much to let her go into this alone.

He pulled her closer and she nuzzled her face deeper into his chest.

"You're not alone in this, Babe." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She subconsciously hugged herself closer to him.

Sighing, he looked around the room. Her life was never easy. But he would never abandon her like so many people in her life had. He loved her too much to do that.

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"I got to go take care of some things." She said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"Mer, you shouldn't even be off of bed rest yet."

"Good thing I'm good friends with my OB."

"Meredith…" The concern in his voice made her turn to look at him.

"I'll be fine. I really need to go do this stuff… Get it out of the way so I can focus on you, Mom, and the baby."

"Just let me know if you need anything. Anything." He repeated the second anything slowly.

She smiled lightly at him and leaned over him. Her hair brushed lightly along the side of his face. "I will." Giving him a light kiss, she sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She headed to the door as she grabbed her bag. "I won't be long."

With that she was gone leaving him alone once again in his room. He relaxed back into room trying not to worry about her. Knowing that she had many eyes watching over her help as much as he had hoped.

"She'll be okay." He said to himself letting his eyes shut in hopes of catching a little sleep.

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He had didn't know how long he had been sleeping when a knock woke him up. Letting out a light groan, he momentarily forgot where he was. Soon he realized he was still in the hospital.

"What?" He called in a husky voice as he buried his face into a pillow to shield him from the light. He could hear the door open and a few stifled noises, but nobody spoke out to him for a second.

"Marcus, are you planning on looking up?" Donna said in an irritated voice before he heard footsteps come into the room.

"Mom, I'm trying to rest. Recovering patients need that."

"We've been gone hours… like twelve." Kathleen said in a dry tone as she sat down on a creaky chair.

Mark's head popped up. "What time is it?"

"Like seven, Mark." Carol said.

"In the morning!?" He said a panic took over his voice.

"Yeah, in the morning." Nancy answered in the same tone as everyone else had been using but he didn't notice.

"Where the hell is Meredith?" He said looking around the room having not noticed that he had been asleep for so long and Meredith had not returned. Fumbling around, he found his phone on the nightstand. Quickly he dialed Christina's number.

"Hello?" Her morning, sharp, annoyed voice rang from the other end of the phone.

"Yang… Yang, where is Meredith?"

"Sleeping beauty you finally awake."

"Cut the crap, Yang. Where's my fiancée?"

"Seriously, Sloan. Calm down. I just saw her like an hour ago, as in yes she's still walking around and is still very much pregnant. Before that… I don't know."

"You don't know where your own person was all night."

"She's a big girl, Sloan. I don't need to baby-sit her. She's fine, so calm down." With that she hung.

He let out a sigh and dialed Meredith's number. Now that he knew she was alright, he could call her with no fear and wouldn't upset her anymore than she was already upset. But as he listened to the phone ring the door opened.

"Mark Sloan! I thought I told you to…" Addison stopped short as she noticed he wasn't alone.

"Meredith." He sighed out with relief as he noticed Addison was wheeling her in, in a wheelchair.

"I don't see why I need to be treated like a baby, Addi. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." Meredith pouted.

"Meredith, you nearly passed out. Mark, keep her in bed."

"No." She started to stand up. "I have things that need to be done now. I have Mark and Mom and… and…"

"Mer, calm down. You also are pregnant. There are plenty of people around here who can help."

Meredith sighed and shook her head. "My mother is very difficult."

"Mer, they can handle it." Mark said.

This was the first time Meredith really realized an audience of Shepherds, a Sloan, and some woman who she didn't know.

Slowly standing up, she felt Addison reach out to stabilize her. She jerked away. "I'm fine." Everyone watched as she walked over to her bed plopped down grabbed the chart that was sitting on the nightstand and opened in.

"Meredith, you aren't working." Addison said trying to take the chart. She jerked it away.

"I'm doing what needs to be done, Addi." Her voice was stern, but not cold as she started flipping through the pages.

"Mer…" Mark said calmly understanding that Meredith was going through a rough time and need to deal with it her way.

"I'm fine." She said, but Mark knew she wasn't. "Just talk to your family."

"Page me if you guys need anything." Addison said wanting to get out of the Shepherd/Sloan situation fast. Giving a small glance at Meredith and Mark, she hurried out.

Mark gave her an uncertain glance before turning towards his family. "Maybe now isn't a good time…"

"Mark…" Meredith said without looking up in a warning tone.

"Okay… So what did you guys do yesterday?"

Their conversation continued softly, but Mark wasn't really listening. He was busy staring at her. She intently read the chart her eyes not leaving the page.


	18. Not So Okay

"Meredith?" He said quietly not long after his family had left. She looked over at him and flashed a little smile despite the tears that glistened along the rims of her eyes. She really did believe she wad doing the right thing by not putting such a load on him. In all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to walk over to his bed, curl up into a little ball in his lap, and just cry into the comfort of his arms. She knew what the recovery process did to a person. It was tough to regain liveliness after an accident. She didn't want her problems to lie on his shoulders too. "What's wrong, Babe?"

She forced a small smile. "Nothing… just worried. I'm fine."

"Meredith…" His voice was disbelieving yet somehow so soothing. 

She tried with all her might to keep the smile from wavering. But he looked at her with such concern and love. Before she could stop it, a tear rolled down her cheek. Reaching up, she quickly wiped it away. Trying to regain composure, she put another smile on in hopes he wouldn't notice. But as always he knew. 

"Come here, Babe." He said softly moving over in the bed. 

She detached the IV in her arm and carefully got off the bed. It only took a few seconds before she was climbing into his bed next to his body. She curled up a little laying her head on his chest. The soft, beat of his heart filled her ear. He pulled her closer to him resting his head on hers and a hand on her stomach while keeping the other arm around her back. 

"Why can't we just be happy?" She cried. Her voice was shaky and tired. "We're getting married in five months. My biggest concern right now is supposed to be chocolate cake or yellow." He hugged her closer running his hand through her hair trying to comfort her but allowed her to vent. "I don't want to have to worry about my mother's cancer, or… or in-laws breathing down the back of my neck… or if my fiancé will be alive tomorrow."

Mark swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise you that."

"I don't want to worry about if I could lose our baby…" She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. "I just want to be happy and get married. I want the baby, you, and I to be a happy family."

"I know. And we will be. I promise. We're going to get though this."

She looked up at him running her hand along the side of his face. Leaning up a little, she kissed him lightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled at her lightly. "Get some sleep." 

She gave a slow nod and laid her head back down on his chest. Mark watched her intently until she was safely asleep. And even for about twenty minutes after she had fallen into a deep sleep, he still watched just to be sure she was safe. What Meredith had said lingered in his mind for two hours until he was made a decision that he always knew was right. His mother and the Shepherds would always be his family and a big part of his past. But Meredith and their baby are his present and future. He loved them both too much to risk that. He had to put a stop to this even if it meant burning some bridges to keep some strong. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'll be back later. I have to go find Karen." She said grabbing the things she needed.

"I thought about what you said." He said from the bed causing her to stop and look at him with a carious face. "About how everything is happen all at once and you can't deal with it all. I don't want my family to interfere. I don't want them to make this time harder on you."

She was shocked at what he had said. "Mark, I didn't mean that…I was having a breakdown." She explained sitting on his bed. 

"But, Mer, you're right. They're being completely unfair to you. I love you and the baby too much to lose you."

She smiled lightly at him intertwining their fingers together. "You're not going to lose us… ever."

"Meredith…"

"Mark, I grew up with practically no family. I still don't talk to my father. My mother and I will never have a relationship. And my half-sisters and I have barely met. I don't want you to be me and not have your family when you have them. I'm not letting you regret not being with them when you can before it is too late."

He ran his hand along the side of her face and down her hair giving her a soft smile. "It's not fair to you and the baby…"

"I'm a big girl, Mark. I can take handle it."

He took a deep breath releasing it slowly. "I could have lost you yesterday, Mer. I can't risk that again."

Leaning over, she kissed him lightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." There was a knock on the door. "If those are the Shepherds I'm going to kill them."

Meredith giggled. "I have to get going anyway. I'll see you later." 

The door opened and Addison appeared. "Hey guys."

"Hey, Addi." Mark smiled. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing… How are you guys doing?"

"Fine… We're fine." Meredith smiled. 

Addison watched her carefully. "Mer, I've known you a long time. Whenever you say you're fine… you really aren't."

"I'm fine." Meredith protested. 

"Okay… Well Karen is looking. I told her that we were going to go get some breakfast so she's going to meet us in the cafeteria." Meredith just nodded but didn't move from the bed. "Are you ready?" 

She was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, maybe I'm not so fine." 

Both Addison and Mark knew that she wasn't so fine. It didn't surprise them that she tried to convince them otherwise. 

Mark pulled her over onto her side and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't cry. She just stared blankly at the wall. Addison sat down on the bed and took her hand. 


	19. Finally Realizing The Obvious

After Meredith regrouped enough, she promised Mark that she was okay and that if she wasn't then she would come back. She and Addison headed down to the indoor section of the cafeteria and find Karen wasn't there. Taking a deep breath, Meredith headed over and sat down. It took only ten minutes for her to show up.

"Good Morning, Karen."

"How are you feeling, Meredith?" Karen asked with genuine concern.

"I'm fine. Just ready for everything to be over."

Addison took her hand letting her squeeze it for support.

"I can understand that." Karen nodded.

"Just tell me straight, Karen. I don't want my mind to come up with something worse than it really is."

Karen took her other hand and gave her a sad look. "It's malignant, Meredith. I'm so sorry." Tears filled her eyes but didn't fall as she just stared. "It's in a dangerous place…"

She was being suffocating. Everything was closing in on her. Her throat was closing up on her. Standing up, she turned and ran away the best she could being pregnant.

"Meredith!" Both Karen and Addison yelled, but she didn't stop.

* * *

He took a deep breath and released it slowly as he looked at his family. Marissa was there which annoyed him greatly, but he tried to hide it.

"We need to talk." He said quietly.

"About what, Markie?" Donna said happy that her son finally wanted to talk.

"About you guys being here." He answered knowing that this was the right decision.

"What about it?" Carol asked.

"I love Meredith and all you guys have done is try and ruin it." He said sternly also knowing that if he was weak in saying this the others would try to overpower him.

"We aren't ruining anything." Kathleen defended.

"If Meredith can't take it then that's her not us." Nancy said dryly.

"She's strong enough to do what ever needs to be done." His anger finally showing through. "Meredith is going through a hard time right now."

"Please Derek she's pregnant and planning a wedding. We have all done that." Madison said rolling her eyes.

"Is Meredith all we're going to hear about the entire time we're here?" Stephanie asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh please." He snapped. "You have no clue what Meredith has on her plate right now. And all that I've heard about since I woke up is Derek's wedding, you're complaints about my life, and Marissa trying to stupidly analyze my life when she knows nothing about it."

"Obviously, none of us do!" Donna yelled. "You get a girl pregnant and do tell anyone and you get engaged and you don't tell almost all of your family."

"Because I knew this would happen! Derek has a messy past with my fiancée, so you assume it's her fault." He yelled back.

"All we know is that he loved her then she ended up with you? What do you think we're going to assume?" Stephanie snapped.

Mark's head whipped around to stared at Derek who was nervously fidgeting in his seat. "This you all you fault!" He yelled. "You didn't tell them now my fiancée has to pay."

"Mark, I didn't want to tell them." Derek mumbled.

"So you sit there criticizing me when you didn't have the balls to tell your family what happened between you and Mer. Wow, you really are an ass."

"What the hell is going on?" Kathleen snapped.

"You have no clue what happened here. You automatically think Meredith and I are the bad guys. Here's a little information about Meredith. She's smart, cute, and caring. She's a doctor because she wants to help people not for the money and glory. She's a great girl whose been dealt bad cards her whole life. So why don't you stop judging long enough to get your heads out of you asses to figure out why the hell I love her. And why I get up everyday. And why I stopped sleeping around to be with her."

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Tears were rolling off her cheeks as she hurried up the stairs as fast as she could. By the time she reached the floor she was looking for, she was panting and crying.

"Meredith?" Alex said when he saw her hurrying by. He put down the chart and hurried after her. It was easy for him to catch up with her since she could only go by so fast because of the baby. He grabbed her arm causing her to stop. "Mer, what's wrong?"

"It's malignant." She cried as she collapsed into him.

"Your mom?" He asked quietly.

She nodded. "It's all my fault. I said that I wanted it to be malignant because…" She gasped. "She's had Alzheimer's for long. She's suffered for so long…"

"I understand. I know." He whispered.

"I need to see Mark. I need him."

"Come on. I'll take you."

She warily walked still crying considerably hard as he held onto her tight in fear she would fall. He pushed the door open to Mark's room for her to find that it wasn't as empty as she left it. Everyone looked up when Meredith entered alongside Alex.

"What's wrong?" Mark instantly asked as the anger in his eyes faded away to concern.

"Meredith this… Meredith that... Everything is about Meredith." Kathleen mumbled rolling her eyes. Mark didn't take his eyes off of Meredith long enough to glare at her.

"Meredith?" He said. "What happened, Kerev?"

Meredith pushed away from Alex and walked over to Mark's bed. Tears rolled off her cheeks. And all the sudden, she didn't care about the Shepherds or Donna or Derek's fiancée. She climbed into bed with him, rolled up into a ball with her head on his chest, and just let herself break down. He was taken by surprise but instantly started comforting her.

"Sh..." He whispered running his hand through her hair.

"I don't care anymore." She cried. "I'm really trying and I can't. I'm so tired. I'm sick of all of this. I can't do it anymore."

"I know. It's okay."

"It's malignant, and it's my fault." She confessed quietly as tears rolled off her cheeks and her body shook.

"It is in no way your fault. There's nothing you could do to prevent this."

"And even though, I can't watch her suffer anymore. It hurts. It hurts so badly, and I can't breathe. I don't know what to do."

"We can get through this."

She looked up at him. "I don't know if I can. It's all happening all at once."

"We'll take it as it comes. You can't give up."

"Don't ever leave me." She cried as she looked up at him.

He pushed a couple strands of hair out of her face smiling light. "I would never be able to."

"You guys need to leave." Alex whispered to Mark's family. They didn't put up a fight and filed out into the hallway.

Her breathing started to even out as she tried to focus on the beat of his heart.

"It's so much all at one time." She mumbled. "I don't want her to die."

He slowly rubbed her back trying to comfort her. That's the way they stayed for a long time even after she fell asleep without even noticing Mark's family watching from the window.

"Give them their privacy." Christina snapped coming behind them.

"My son really loves her." Donna said to Christina.

"They love each other so much it's sickening." She shook her head walking away.


	20. Baby Girl

He didn't want to let go of her ever after she had woken up

He didn't want to let go of her ever after she had woken up. They laid there in complete silence. Her eyes staring at the blank trying to digest everything that was going on. He held her close to him watching her blank face as he absently toyed with her hair. Slowly she pulled herself into the sitting position and looked at him through her swollen, red eyes.

"We'll be okay." She said quietly.

"We'll be okay." He confirmed touch the side of her face. "I love you."

"I love you too." She intertwined her fingers and laid her head on his shoulder. "I want to find out the sex of the baby."

He glanced over at her knowing she needed something to look forward to. She needed something to keep her afloat. "I do too, Babe." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it light.

"I want to see my baby."

He smiled at her lightly. "Let's page Addi."

She gave him a weak smile nodding lightly as he pulled out his phone.

Within ten minutes, Addison showed up with a concerned look.

"What's going on?" She asked trying to approach everything cautiously.

"We want to see our baby." Mark said.

"And we're going to find out the sex."

Addison smiled. "We can do that. Is there anyone you want paged?"

Meredith looked at Mark. He gestured for her to make the decision. "Can you page Christina, Alex, Izzie, and George and have them waiting out there? I want to see their faces. I need something happy right now."

"I understand." Addison smiled. "I'll be right back with the stuff."

Meredith looked at her fiancé. "I hope that is okay."

"Whatever you want." He kissed her forehead.

--

Soon, Christina, George, Izzie, and Alex cluttered the hall hovering near the door awaiting news on the sex of the baby. They were all worried about Meredith but knew the best thing for her would be to forget about Mark's mother, the Shepherds, her mother, and cancer and focus on the baby. They would be perfectly blissful like there was nothing going on in hopes that for a minute, she could forget.

Soon they felt someone looking at them. Christina noticed first and glanced over her shoulder to see the Shepherds and Donna standing near by. Her face turned into a scowl and a glare formed her eyes warning them to stay away. She turned back but heard their quiet chatter. And in a mere second, Derek had walked up. All four friends turned to look at him with disapproving looks.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Christina stood up a little straighter to prove that she wouldn't budge.

"Get out of her, Shepherd." She said sternly.

"Is something wrong with Mark?" He asked.

"Why don't you go back to your family and tell them to stay away too." Alex said with a cold voice.

"Mark is our family."

"It's a funny way of showing it." Izzie answered.

"What are you trying to say?" His voice turned a little harsher.

"We're saying that making his fiancée's life a living hell isn't the normal way to treat a family member." Christina shot back.

"Look at it from our stand point." Derek said.

"We would but the inside of your ass isn't a pretty sight." George finally spoke out.

"Well put Bambi." Christina said nodding at him.

"Thank you."

"We don't have our heads up our asses." Derek sighed annoyed with them.

"Oh please, Shepherd. You guys waltz into her life shooting her down with insults. You know nothing about her." Izzie shot back.

"She used to be the love of my life…"

"And even then you didn't know her. God, you've been out of her life for a long time. You don't know what's going on with her or who she is." Christina said.

"We had no chance. Mark never told us." He shot back.

"Just walk away. We aren't going to ruin her one minute of solitude." Izzie said shaking her head at him.

Derek sighed. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. And he'll stay that way if you stop harassing Meredith." Christina said before turning back to the window. Slowly Derek walked back to his family as the four residents turned back to the window only to see Meredith crying lightly and Mark and Addison smiling. All of their eyes were on the monitor. Addison hit a few buttons, said a few words, before walking towards the door.

"So?" Izzie quickly asked once she exited the room. Excitement was evident in her voice.

"Give them a few minutes and you can ask them for yourself." She answered before walking away avoiding the eyes of the Shepherd family.

After a few minutes, Izzie knocked. Mark yelled quick come in and the four friends shuffled into the room. A few seconds past before Izzie couldn't contain her excitement. "So?"

Meredith looked at Mark. He nodded for her to go. "It's a girl." She smiled brightly.

Izzie quickly squealed as the others went to congratulate the couple.

"First Sloan born in four generations." Mark chuckled kissing her temple.

"I'm back and I have pictures." Addison announced walking in.

"Oh, let me see." Izzie squealed happily taking the pictures out of her hands as Addison walked over to the bed.

"The Shepherds are stalking your room outside." Addison whispered into Mark's ear.

Mark looked at her, but nodded. "Thanks, Addi."


	21. Not A Grandson

A knock came at the door causing him to jump from the half sleep he had fallen into

A knock came at the door causing him to jump from the half sleep he had fallen into. Meredith had left not long before to check on her mother.

"What?" He groaned rubbing his eyes.

"We haven't been by in a while. We wanted to check on you." Kathleen explained as they stood in the door.

"I'm fine." He yawned.

"So what was Addison doing in here with an ultrasound earlier?" Carol asked.

"Are you pregnant, Mark?" Nancy joked.

"No, bur my fiancé is." Mark rolled his eyes.

"Is Meredith all we're ever going to hear about?" Stephanie asked obviously annoyed.

"So what if it is?" Mark shot back. "I happen to like talking about her."

"Well, we can't participate in the conversation seeing as we know nothing about this girl other than you got her pregnant and never told us." Donna said in a stern annoyed voice.

"Here we go again." Mark mumbled. "You know if you just want to give me grief then just go."

"We just want to know why, Mark." Madison almost yelled.

"Because it's my damn business." Mark yelled back.

"From what I hear, this is the first time you've kept something major from your family." Marissa said.

Mark glared at her. "Let's get one thing straight. You know nothing about me or Meredith, so why don't you take you're little physiologist act and leave me alone."

"I'm a psychiatrist." Marissa said plainly.

"I don't care."

"I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need any help." Mark almost yelled. "If you can't stand my life, then leave."

A quick knock came before the door opened. Richard appeared with a wide smile.

"Richard. Good to see you finally had time to drop by my room." Mark joked.

Chuckling, he shook his head. "I just heard the big news. Congratulations." He gave Mark a firm handshake.

Mark smiled. "I'm so excited."

"I'm sure you are. Names are already going around the hospital. I doubt you will be allowed to pick one."

Mark chuckled. "The nurses are already buzzing. Can't trust this hospital with anything."

"No, you certainly can't." Richard laughed. "How's Mer doing with everything?"

"She's… dealing I guess. If you let me out of here early…"

"Not a chance, Sloan."

"Worth a try I guess."

"I better get going. Let me know if you guys need anything."

"Will do. See you later, Chief."

"Hey, Richard." Derek smiled.

"Derek." He nodded at him. Though he wouldn't admit it, he never looked at Derek in the same way after he hurt Meredith. With that, he walked away.

"What's the big news?" Nancy asked.

"What?" Mark looked at them.

"The big news. What is it?" Donna asked.

He had forgotten all about telling them. Just as he was about to say something the door opened without a knock for warning and Christina and Alex walked in.

"Sloan!" Christina almost yelled.

"Yes Yang?" Mark gave her a charming smile.

"You are so dead, dude." Alex chuckled.

"What did I do? I haven't left my bed." Mark quickly protested.

"You know you can get your ass in trouble from here." Christina said.

"What did I do, Yang?"

"You named the baby and didn't tell us."

Mark laughed. "We did not."

"You didn't?" Alex asked with a little amusement in his voice. Mark shook his head with an amused smile.

"We should probably stop Izz then." Christina whispered.

"Probably a good idea." Alex nodded.

"She better not hurt my fiancé." Mark laughed.

"Yeah, we better go stop her." Alex whispered. "See you later, Sloan."

"Hurry up, Evil Spawn." Christina said pushing him out the door.

Mark laughed shaking his head. "Stupid nurses."

"Now you're naming my grandson?" Donna asked.

"Grandson?" Mark asked looking at her like she was crazy.

"There hasn't been a girl Sloan born in four generations, Mark." She reminded him.

"Well, there's a first time for everything."

"Are you saying it's a girl?" Derek asked.

"Yep. We just found out." Mark smiled with pride.

"And you didn't tell us?" Carol asked.

"We just found out like two hours ago." Mark protested annoyed that they couldn't seem to be happy.

"And those people knew before us?" Nancy asked.

"'Those 'people' are Meredith's family." Mark said as anger flashed through her eyes. The protectiveness he had for Meredith took over. "Why the hell can't you just be happy for us?"

"We have no clue what to be happy for seeing as you don't tell us anything!" Donna yelled.

"I shouldn't have to!" He yelled back. "If you've paid attention to anything since you've got here then you would know."__


	22. We're Going To Need A Referee

She walked down the hall already fuming with anger

She walked down the hall already fuming with anger. Stress had turned to anger, and she didn't know how to get rid of it.

"_Do you expect to make it? Do you really think you could help people? You're too weak to be a doctor!" _Her mother's words echoed through her head.

She wanted to break something. She wanted to be able to breathe. She wanted everything to go away.

"Meredith?" A voice came from behind her.

"What?!" She yelled whipping around to look at George.

"Whoa, sorry, Mer." He looked at her strangely.

She sighed. "Sorry, George, I'm just having a hard time."

He gave her a soft smile. "I know, Mer."

"My mother is being impossible." She rubbed her temples. "The Shepherds are driving me up a wall."

"Come on, Mer. Let's go find Mark."

"They're in there, George. I don't want to see them right now."

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but everything will work out."

"Thanks, George. I have to go." She gave him a soft smile before walking out.

--

"Meredith?" Derek's voice came. She opened her eyes and looked over at him.

"What do you want, Derek?"

"My mom and Donna wanted me to come find you. They want to talk to you and Mark together."

"I'm resting."

"Please, Meredith."

Letting out a sigh, she stood up and followed him back to Mark's room.

"Hey." He smiled at her as she walked in.

"Hey." She sat down beside her kissing his cheek. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." He rubbed her stomach before returning his eyes to his mother. "What's going on, mom?"

"We're working this out." She answered simply.

"Working what out?" Mark asked.

"Everyone's issues." Marissa said. "Since, I'm the objective party here. I'm going to be referee."

"We need a referee?" Meredith asked in disbelief.

"Well, since everyone is putting their feelings out there, it's for the best." Carol nodded.

"Mer has enough going on. She doesn't need this." Mark snapped.

"We all have a lot going on, Mark. And we're doing this." Nancy snapped.

Letting out a sigh, Meredith put her head down on her fiancé's shoulder. "This is going to be one hell of a night." She whispered to herself before talking louder. "Just get this over with. I have things to do."

"This is more important." Kathleen said.

"I doubt that." Meredith mumbled.

"Alright, just someone start." Marissa said.

"I'll go." Donna said. "I'm furious at you, Mark. You got Meredith pregnant and didn't tell us. Not to mention, I was the only one who knew about the engagement. I mean what the hell, Mark? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I told you, it wasn't your business." Mark responded as calmly as possible.

"Elaborate, Mark." Marissa said.

"Derek and Meredith have a past. A messy past. I didn't want this happening." Mark growled in a low voice.

"My turn." Nancy said. "Meredith, I can honestly say that I don't like you. You broke my brother. And nobody knows what happened. All we know is that you were with Derek and ended up with Mark."

"Are you calling me a whore?" Meredith asked with anger.

"Not in those words." Nancy said with a smug look.

"Don't you dare call her that." Mark yelled.

Before she knew what was happening, everyone was yelling at everyone. Marissa was trying to break it up. And she felt like she was about to explode.

"SHUT UP! Just shut the hell up!" She screamed over everyone. Everyone quickly silenced and looked at her. She stood up and glared at them. "What the hell is wrong with you people? Let's get one thing straight. You don't know me. You don't have a damn clue who I am. You decided to hate me before you knew me. I don't care if you do hate me. I'll live if you do. And I don't have the time or effort to change your mind. I have enough to do."

"You're pregnant and planning a wedding. How will you do it?" Nancy said sarcastically.

"You think that is what this is about?" She almost yelled. "I am pregnant. I am planning a wedding. I have a mother who has Alzheimer's and brain cancer. I have a residency to worry about. My fiancé is in the hospital. And I have his freaking family breathing down the back of my neck 24/7. So don't try to freaking belittle me." With that she walked out slamming the door leaving everyone shocked.

Mark glared at them running his hands through his head. "You don't know when to stop, do you?"

"Mark, we didn't know…" Donna stammered.

"You didn't know? I told you all to stop. I told you she had enough on her plate. That should have been enough. She's struggling to keep going between her mother and work and the accident. But none of you couldn't see that. No, you were to busy gushing over Derek and his 'perfect' fiancé and how they're wedding will be so perfect. Should they had pink flowers or yellow? Should they have it inside or out? That is all I've heard about. Have you once asked when my wedding is? Have you once thought that maybe I want to tell you where my wedding is going to be? Or what my daughter's name might be? Or even when the due date is? You're too damn proud for that. You make Meredith out to be the worst person when she works her ass off day in and day out to make a difference. She takes care of a mother who says that she worthless. She doesn't have a father or a family anymore. She grew up alone. She had to get over Derek having a secret wife. She had to get past his cheating. And against all odds, she's not only standing, but she's the most compassionate, caring, beautiful woman I know. But none of that is good enough for any of you. You don't stop pushing and pushing until she falls. You don't stop to think for even a second that the love of my life, the woman I'm marrying, the woman carrying my child deserves more than how you've been treating her."

"Mark…" Donna started quietly after a few seconds.

"Just go. I don't want to talk to you all right now."

They stared at him for a few seconds before slowly rising, gathering they're things, and shuffling out of the room.


	23. Don't Get To Be Sorry

She had calmed down a little after wondering the halls for a couple hours

She had calmed down a little after wondering the halls for a couple hours. She bumped into Alex and talked to him for a little while until he was pulled into surgery. She made her way up to Addison's office, knocked, and waited for and invitation to enter. It didn't take long for Addison to call for her to come in.

"Hey, Addi." She smiled as she stepped in shutting the door.

"You look like you're about to kill someone?" She chuckled taking her glasses off.

"I think I might." She sighed.

"Why? What happened?"

"My mother is freaking impossible. And Mark's freaking family just went all WWE on me."

"WWE on you?"

"They got Derek's fiancée to be the referee while they argued with us and called me a whore."

"They called you a whore?" Her eyes grew wide with shock.

"It was all so… soap opera."

"They called you a whore?"

"Yes, Addi, they called me a whore. I yelled at them and told them about my mother then stormed out. They looked like they killed someone's dog."

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. It's just so… stressful, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand." She sighed before changing the subject. "How's that baby of yours?"

"She's hanging in there." She beamed.

"If she can survive all this stress, she'll be tough just like her Mom."

"I don't feel very tough."

"Don't listen to the Shepherds or Donna. They only see things one way when it comes to their precious sons. And it's usually not in favor of the women in their lives."

"It all just… sucks."

Addison giggled shaking her head. "Yeah, it sucks."

"I'm going to go get a chocolate milkshake. Have any time to join me?"

She shut the chart that she was looking at and stood up. "I would love to."

--

Their laughter filled the abandon halls as they walked towards Mark's room. They carried food for Mark and themselves that they had gotten from Joe's.

"I can't believe you." Meredith laughed nudging her with her shoulder.

"Like you're much better. Have you seen yourself when your surgery deprived or sex deprived? I'm going to hate to see you on maturity leave."

"Whatever." She shook her head stopping at the door to Mark's room. "They better not be in there."

"Screw them, Mer."

Rolling her eyes, Meredith pushed the door open to find Mark sleeping in the bed, and Derek sitting across the room. Silently groaning, Meredith led Addison in and set the food down on the rolling bed table before turning to Derek.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered harshly.

"I wanted to look in on him… And, apologize to you guys."

"I don't want your little apology so you can feel better about yourself."

"Mer, it's not worth getting upset for." Addison whispered. "Think about that baby. She doesn't need anymore stress."

Meredith nodded letting out a deep breath. "Just please go, Derek. I really don't have the energy to deal with you right now."

She turned her back to him taking a long sip of her chocolate milkshake as she settled into the chair beside the bed. Addison took another one near by handing Meredith her hamburger. Derek stared at them for a few moments before sighing.

"I really am sorry, Meredith." He sighed.

She just shook her head. "You don't get to be sorry yet, Derek."

He stared at her for a few moments. She was as beautiful as she had ever been. Her stomach looked so huge compared to her petite frame, but pregnancy looked good on her. Her golden hair had grown quite a bit, and her body had changed probably due to the pregnancy. Her eyes were as green and beautiful as ever, but they had lost all the sadness that they once had. Sadness he knew he caused, that never went away until Mark came into her life. In some ways, he was happy that she had found him. In others, he was still a little bitter and couldn't help but wonder what would have been different if Rose never came into his life. Would she be carrying his baby? Would they be happy? Would she be wearing his ring?

Shaking the lingering thoughts from his head, he gave a small nod at the two women and walked out. Meredith's eyes returned to Mark's face.

"He looks really peaceful." Addison observed.

Meredith gave her friend a small smile before looking at her fiancé once more. "Yeah he does."


	24. Leaving

Mark lied in bed with his fiancée the next morning. They were talking mostly about the baby and the wedding. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Mark sighed as he shifted to see who was coming in. His mother appeared followed by Carol, Nancy, Kathleen, Stephanie, and Madison. Letting out a quiet sigh, he just looked at them.

"Good morning, Mark." Donna said first.

"Good morning, Mom." Mark returned.

"We came by to say goodbye." Donna told him.

"You're leaving?" He asked.

"We've caused enough trouble, haven't we? Derek can look in on you now and let us know how everything is going." She answered.

"When's your flight?"

"This afternoon." Carol replied.

"Will you call if you need anything?" Donna questioned as she moved closer to the bed.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm sorry that this trip has been rough, but…"

"Dear, it's not you who should be sorry. We should be the ones apologizing. We haven't made this hard time easier on either of you."

"I know your worried about me, Mom. But, you need to trust me that I know what I'm doing with my life. I love Meredith, and we're getting married and having a baby. I shouldn't have to justify myself to you because Derek has made a mess out of the past he had with her."

"I see that now, son. I'm sorry." He hugged him around his neck. "I love you. And Meredith really is a nice girl." She whispered. "You better do right by her."

"She is, Mom. She's amazing." He whispered back. "I love you, Mom."

Pulling back, she kissed his head. Carol hugged him too. "I love you, Mark." She whispered. Pulling back, he kissed his forehead.

The Shepherd sisters all came over, hugging him and saying their goodbyes. After they had all said goodbye to Mark they step back and stood before the couple.

"Goodbye Meredith." Donna said.

"Bye." She replied.

"I'm sorry about your mother." Carol stated quietly.

"Thank you."

"And we all very sorry about how we've treated you. Hopefully, one day under better circumstances, we can start over." Donna said. Meredith gave her a nod and a small smile.

They all uttered another goodbye before heading towards the door. Meredith took a deep breath before speaking again. "The baby is due March 14th."

"What?" Carol said turning around to look at her.

"The baby is due March 14th. Our wedding it April 25th." She informed them looking at her hands. "I just thought you should know."

"Thank you, Meredith." Donna smiled.

Even after all they had done, she still wanted to make a truce.

_**--**_

_**Only a two or three more chapters. I know I'm ending a lot of stories, because I hope to have some time to do some new ones especially as the new season comes. **_

_**And I know that this chapter was short. Sorry. I wanted to get through this part in one chapter before skipping ahead some.**_


	25. My Beautiful Baby Girl

_2 ½ months later..._

"I'm bored." She pouted crossing her arms across her chest.

He chuckled as he bent down and kissed her. "Sorry, Babe."

"Can't I go to work and suture in the pit? You can talk the chief right?"

"No can do." He answered pulling on his jacket. "I'll be home after my two o'clock surgery."

"I'll stop by an see you."

"Meredith…"

"I'm just going to have lunch with Christina, Alex, Izzie, and George. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"Alright." He smiled and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She said still pouting slightly.

"I'll see you later." She gave a short wave as he walked out of the house. Sighing she looked around. What should she do now?

--

She grabbed her things and slipped on her shoes before waking out. The day was cool and slightly damp, but the sun was out which was a rarity that she enjoyed to see. She slipped in behind the wheel. It took her a few moments to get comfortable. Over the last couple months, as her stomach got larger, the harder it got to get comfortable. But today it seemed impossible. Her feet and back were killing her, and the baby wouldn't settle down. If she didn't want to see the inside of the hospital so badly, she wouldn't bother with going out. But she put on a strong front and headed to the hospital. After she got to the parking lot, she texted her friend to tell them that she was there and walked towards the hospital. After stopping to talk to a few people on the way, she headed down to the cafeteria, got her food, and waited for her friends while snacking on a few potato chips.

"Hey." Alex greeted as he sat down across from her.

"Hey." She gave him a small smile that came out a little more pained than she hoped.

"You okay?" He looked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… uncomfortable."

"You didn't have to come, you know?" Izzie's voice came as she and George sat down.

"I wanted to. I hate being cooped up at home. I miss the hospital."

"That's what happens when you forget a condom." Christina pointed out as she sat down earning a glare from her person.

"Any interesting surgeries?" Everyone shook their head no. Whether it was a boring day or if they just didn't want her trying to steal them, she wasn't sure. Either way, she sighed sadly. "I've got to pee."

She stood up mumbling something about how the baby jumped on her bladder every other moment. She took to steps before there was a gush of fluid. She stopped and looked down.

"I don't think you have to go anymore." Christina laughed.

"I think me water just broke." She said in shock as she stared down at the forming puddle.

"Holy shit!" Alex said first as they all rose from their seats to help her.

--

Izzie and Christina had her in a wheelchair that they practically stole from an volunteer walking by and was rushing her up to the OB/GYN ward while George and Alex took off to find Mark.

"Addison!" Meredith yelled. Addison looked up at the sound of her friend's voice.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" She crouched down in front of her.

"My water broke."

Switching from friend-mode to doctor-mode, she stood up straighter. "Get her to room 2." She said. "Where's Mark, Meredith?"

"I don't know. George and Alex went off to find him. What if he doesn't make it?"

"There's no need to worry about things like that, Mer."

Meredith just nodded as they brought her into her room.

--

After checking the OR board to see that he had a surgery scheduled in ten minutes, Alex hurried off to stop Mark from scrubbing in and George ran off to find Dr Harrison, another plastic surgeon. He nearly slipped on the polished floor as he rounded the corner, but he didn't stop as he pushed the door to open to the stairs. He ran up two flights skipping every other stair until he found the floor OR3 was on. He threw the door open, almost ran into an intern, mumbled an apology, and hurried down the hall.

He hurried down the hall until he found OR3's scrub room. Peeking through the window, he breathlessly pushed the door open.

"Don't scrub in, Sloan." Alex panted.

"Ran all the way here to see me, Kerev?" He joked.

"Yes." Alex said finally catching his breath.

"You're a great friend, Kerev. But I seriously don't know what Mer would think if when I tell her you ran all the way here to see me before I went into surgery." He chuckled as he scrubbed his hands.

"Meredith's in labor." He finally said.

"What?" His head whirled around to look at him.

"She's in labor." He repeated.

"But… I… and she… labor?"

Rolling his eyes, he nodded. "She's about to push your kid out of her… Just come on." Mark still didn't move he looked between his patient and Alex still in a slightly shocked haze. "Come on, Sloan." He ushered pulling the other man out of the room.

"My patient?"

"O'Malley's finding Harrison. I'll let them know. Now, go."

"Thanks, Kerev." With that Mark hurried out. Rolling his eyes, Alex grabbed a mask and held it to his face as he walked in.

"The surgery is temporarily postponed. The surgeon is slightly… busy right now. Dr. Harrison is coming though." He announced before walking out.

--

"Thank god you're here." Izzie said slightly dramatically.

"What? What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"It's nothing like that… I just think poor Christina can take it anymore."

Mark rolled his eyes and pushed past her to go into the room. Meredith looked up and her face softened.

"She's all yours, Sloan." Christina said rolling her eyes. "She's been in here ten minutes and I'm ready to give myself a hysterectomy so this never happens to me."

Meredith glared at her until she slipped out of the room before giving Mark a small smile. "You made it."

"Did you expect me not to?" He asked kissing her lightly on the head then on the lips.

"I wasn't sure if you were in surgery."

"Kerev just made it. I was almost scrubbed in when he came in to stop me."

Meredith smiled as he kissed her once more before settling into a chair. "Ready for this?"

"Of course."

"We're about to be parents… I can't wait to see her."

"Me neither, Babe."

--

Wow, did her demeanor change? She went from calm and excited to hysterical and vicious. Mark sat in the chair letting her order him around and squeeze his hand all she wanted almost afraid of what she would do if he didn't.

"How's she doing?" He asked Addison when she walked in.

"How do you think I'm doing? A bowling ball is making its way out of my body as we speak." She snapped at him.

"You're nine cm dilated, Meredith." Meredith hardly heard her as she let out a cry as another contraction hit. After it passed, she returned her attention to her friend. "We're going to get set up to start pushing, so we're going to move you to delivery now."

She nodded and looked at Mark. "One more cm."

He smiled and kissed her hand.

Soon a few nurses walked in and informed them they were there to move her. Mark moved out of the way so they could maneuver the bed out then returned to her side as they walked down the hall. Addison was waiting inside the new room for Meredith. She was now wearing gloves and her lab coat and skirt had been removed and replaced with dark blue scrub and gloves. She was standing over a tray of emergency tools organizing them how she wanted them to be. When the nurses brought her in, she looked up, smiled at her friend, and moved out of the way so the bed could be put in its spot. A few nurse walked around preparing a few thing, but most of them walked out after she arrived leaving Addison and the couple.

"So you guys ready?" Addison asked.

"Yeah." Meredith answered smiling up at Mark. Her face got twisted and a look of pain came over her quickly as another contraction came on. Mark helped her through it and wiped her brow with a damp cloth as Addison went to check on her progress.

"You're at ten centimeters, Mer." In an instant, two nurses returned. "We're going to start pushing on the next contraction." Only another moment passed, when the machine indicated another contraction. "Push… One, two, three…" After Addison's counting his ten, Meredith was able to let the deep breath she had been holding in go and fall back against the bed.

"You're doing great." Mark said kissing her head.

Four more pushes passed before Addison announced she could see the head. Already exhausted, Meredith panted and waited for the next order to push.

"And, push… one, two, three; you're doing great, Mer, six…" Once again, when Addison said ten, Meredith fell back against the bed. Mark wiped her forehead with the damp cloth and whispered to her. Within, three more pushes, Addison announced the head was out. "One more, Mer." Meredith gave it all the energy she had. Crying filled the air. "It's a girl, Meredith."

Tears rolled off his cheek as he laid his forehead against his fiancée's. "You did it, Babe. She's here."

Meredith kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too, Babe."

"Mark? You want to cut the umbilical cord?"

He nodded, kissed Meredith once more, and went to greet his little girl for the first time. She was still crying loudly and flopping about when he walked over. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and her nose was scrunched up as Mark cut the umbilical cord.

"6 pounds, 10 ounces." Addison announced smiling back to Meredith. The nurse wrapped the baby in a pink blanket and allowed Mark to pick her up.

"Hey there, Baby." Mark said softly as he walked towards the bed. Meredith's face lit up as Mark carried her baby over.

"Hey, Sweetie." She said quietly as Mark lied her down on Meredith chest. Her eyes fluttered open revealing the green-blue eyes. "Mark, she's beautiful."

"Just like her Mommy." He said kissing her lips lightly. "I love you, Mer."

"I love you too, Mark." She wiped her eye as she looked at him.

--

"Hey, Mom." He said when he heard the phone pick up.

"Oh, Markie, hey. Carol is here too. Here, let me put you on speaker."

There was a moment of the phone shuffling around before Carol's voice came. "Hello, Mark."

"Hey. I'm glad you're both there. Meredith gave birth today."

Both women squealed. "Oh my god!"

"How is the baby?" Donna asked.

"She's doing great."

"How's Meredith?" Carol asked.

"She's resting, but okay."

"What's her name?" Carol asked.

"Natalie Ann Sloan." He said with a proud smile. "She's beautiful, guys. She's got dark blonde hair and blue-green eyes."


	26. The Sloans

_April 25th…_

"Meredith?" Izzie's voice came pulling her out of the daze she was in. She ran her fingers along her stomach and down the skirt. "You look amazing."

"Thank you." Meredith smiled.

"And you haven't even freaked out." Christina pointed out. They wore lavender matching dresses and silver shoes. Their hair was done down and pinned back.

"What's there to freak out about?" She asked turning to look at her friends. Her veil twisted around her body in the process. "I love Mark." She looked down at Izzie who was crouching on the floor gently rocking Natalie in her car seat. She was contently smiling up at her mother and blowing bubbles with her spit. Meredith smile down at her baby for a second completely mesmerized by her green-blue eyes and little smile. She was nearly two months old, and Meredith still couldn't stop staring at her. She didn't snap out of it until Christina said something.

"You're entering his lunatic family. Need I remind you?" Christina said as Izzie glared at her.

Meredith just shrugged and sighed as she turned back to the mirror. Her hair was done down in waves and the veil rested on top of her head. Her make-up was perfect and light.

"You really do look beautiful." Izzie said hugging her friend's arms together.

"Thank you." She said with a large smile.

"Ready?" George asked as he appeared in the doorway.

Meredith smiled as she walked towards the door. Izzie crouched down and picked up her niece, who giggled happily. She was wearing a tiny white dress with a puffy skirt and lavender sash. Her friends followed her down the long hall. George was going to be walking her down the aisle since she had no father in her life. So since, Izzie was her bridesmaid, Christina was her maid of honor, and Alex was the best man, it only seemed fit. Christina grabbed a bouquet from the wedding planner, and Izzie grabbed a basket of flowers. Natalie instantly moved to grab a few petals in her small hand and shook the around flinging her arm back so it almost hit Izzie. Giggling, Izzie shifted her around in her arms and kissed her forehead before glancing back at Meredith. She was now holding a lavender and white bouquet in her hands. She was glowing with happiness, and a large smile was plastered on her face. George looped his arms with hers and jokingly offered her one last chance to one. She laughed lively and shook her head. Izzie returned her eyes to the wedding planner who gave her a short nod. With a smile on her face she turned the corner out into the open courtyard.

The wedding was a small, quaint, outdoor, evening wedding. Only a few important people from the hospital, Meredith's family, Derek, Donna, and a few of Mark's friends were there. The other Shepherds weren't able to get there. There was an gazebo at the end of the aisle. It was decorated with flowers and little lights since the sun was setting making the sky beautiful pink, red, and orange colors. And chairs were set up on either side of the aisle. The air was cool, but not too cold. Everything was perfect.

She moved to the middle aisle and slowly walked down Natalie giggled when she saw her father. Izzie scattered the petal since nobody expected Natalie to be able to do it. When she got to the end of the aisle, she gave Natalie to Richard and set the basket down on the ground beside him. He held out the bouquet that he had been holding onto for her. She smiled at him and took her place beside Christina.

The wedding march began and everyone stood and turned. Looking as beautiful as ever, Meredith emerged. Her arm was looped with George's. Her eyes instantly locked with Mark. His eyes lit up and a smile broke on his face. Everything else vanished. In that moment, all he could see was Meredith walking towards him. For the rest of his life, everything he was revolved around Meredith and Natalie, and it didn't scare him at all.

When she got to the end of the aisle, George kissed her cheek and took a seat in the front as Mark took her hand.

"You look amazing." He mouthed.

"You too." She mouthed back.

--

Giggling, she watched as Mark danced with his daughter. He hugged her in his arms and held her tiny hand in his larger one.

"Hey." She heard from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder and offered him a small smile. "Hey."

He sat down next to her where Christina had been sitting during the dinner. "Congratulations."

"You don't sound all that sincere." She pointed out looking at him skeptically. He shrugged and sipped his drink.

"Just thinking?"

"I'll take a chance and ask. About what?"

"What do you think would have happen if I never cheated on you?"

She looked away from him and returned her eyes to her husband and daughter. There was a long silence. "I think I still would be here today… with Mark and Natalie." He sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Don't do this, Derek. Don't think about what could have been. Because, it never would have worked out. I love Mark and Natalie more than anything." She noticed Mark coming over after Alex took Natalie. "Nothing that you would or wouldn't change about the past would change that."

"Are you harassing my _wife_, Shep?" Mark asked with a wide smile.

"No, we're just talking." Derek said and stood up. "You're a lucky man, Sloan. Don't let her go."

"I don't intend to."

Derek smile. "Congratulations." With that he walked off.

"Well, Meredith Sloan, would you like to dance?" He asked helping her out of the seat.

"I'd love to." She smiled as he led her out to the dance floor.

"I love you, Meredith Sloan." He whispered.

"I love you too, Mark Sloan."

_**--**_

_**The next chapter is probably going to be the last one. **_


	27. Greetings NOT THE LAST CHAPTER

"I don't want to." Meredith pouted like a five year old. Mark chuckled and squeezed her hand.

"We have to. We haven't seen them since I was in the hospital... four years ago." He said raising his eyebrow at her briefly before turning his eyes back to the road.

"One visit every decade should be enough." She mumbled. She slouched down in her seat and crossed her arms across her chest. He chuckled again at how her pregnancy hormones kept her moods going up and down.

"Mom hasn't met any of the kids." He objected with an amused smile.

"That's what e-mail and the phone are for."

"In person." He gave her a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes while mumbling something under her breath. Her hands fell uncrossed and settled on her large protruding belly. He reached over and gave her hand a supportive squeezed. "It'll be fine. You'll have me to protect you."

She sighed and smiled at him. "You better not fall unconscious at the last moment."

"I won't." He laughed. Relaxing a little, she glanced back at Natalie and Sam who were sound asleep in the back. She smiled to herself as she reached back and fixed the blanket that was half falling off Sam's lap onto the floor.

Their son, Marcus Samuel Sloan or Sam for short, was now two. Their daughter, Natalie Ann Sloan, was three, almost four. Meredith was now seven months pregnant with baby number three, a boy.

"We're here." He announced. Glancing back in the review mirror, he noticed Natalie sleepily sitting up and rubbing her eyes. When Meredith sighed, he turned his eyes to her with an understanding smile. He knew she didn't particularly like his family. They had somewhat made amends four years ago. But it was always as if they were calling to check up on them. As if they were waiting for them to fail. Tension was sometimes high and the air often hung with awkward silence. But she made her best effort. Another thing that always seemed to drive a wedge between them was that when Natalie was born, they had an excuse for not coming. She was a few weeks premature. Meredith got pregnant not long after Natalie turned eleven months old, and none of his family bothered to fly to Seattle. Sam was induced on the due date, and none of them showed up. Two years later, they finally decided to see their grandchildren/niece and nephew by inviting them to fly across country. Sure, the distance made it hard, and there were multiple phone calls on every occasion. But still…

Mark got out, crossed the car, and helped his wife out of the car. Natalie managed to get out of her seat and onto the sidewalk with no problem, and Mark moved to get Sam, who was still sleeping, out.

"Mommy?" Natalie said still sounding kind of drowsy.

"Yes, Baby." Meredith smiled down at her as her fingers ran over her daughter's curly hair.

"Where are we?" She asked looking around. The Shepherd's house was in a nice neighborhood in Manhattan. Long lines of similar houses ran along the road with small front yards, a driveway, and what looked to be a fairly large backyard from where she stood. The house they stood in front of was medium-sized and painted a light grayish color with white trim. There was a porch that ran pretty much the length of the house made of weathered wood that had been painted gray with white railings.

"We're at Daddy's family's house for the Forth of July reunion, remember?"

Natalie looked perplexed for a second before nodding. Meredith smiled as she stroked her hair once more and let her hand fall to her side. Mark came up beside her with Sam lightly snoring against his shoulder. He led them up the rickety stairs and gave the door a swift knock. Natalie wrapped her arms around her mother's leg and cowered behind her. Meredith couldn't help but giggled as she gave her a reassuring smile, but Natalie chose not to move. The door swung open, and the sound of loud footsteps, laughter, and yelling came from within the house. Sam's head practically shot off of his father's shoulder as fear entered his eyes. Natalie's grip became tighter. Meredith glanced down at her then looked back to the door to see Donna standing on the other side looking bubbly and excited. She looked the same as she did four years before except the gray in her hair was becoming more and more prominent. She wore dark blue pants and a red and white striped top with little blue stars embroidered around the collar.

"Markie!" She cried out as she threw her hands in the air.

"Hey, Mom." He smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"Oh my, you must be my Sam." Donna cooed.

Meredith couldn't help but scrunch her nose. _"Your Sam? I think you mean MY Sam."_ She thought.

Sam gave her an innocent gaze before putting his head back on his father's shoulder. Donna tried to hide the slight amount of hurt that entered her eyes that almost made Meredith regret her thought. "He's a little tired." Mark offered as some sort of excuse as he moved into the house. Donna gave a nod as Mark moved into the foyer more.

"And you must be Natalie." Donna smiled crouching down. Natalie peeked from behind Meredith's legs but didn't smile or greet her in anyway.

"She's shy." Meredith said even though she wasn't sure to what extent her daughter was shy. While she was with Alex, Christina, George, or Izzie, she was the boldest three year-old Meredith had ever met. She shrugged it off and stroked her daughter's head comfortingly.

"Oh…" Donna's face fell a little as she stood up. "Meredith, you're glowing. Pregnancy suits you." She complemented.

"Thank you." She smiled and led Natalie into the house. Looking perplexed, Donna shut the door and followed them into the kitchen. Carol was running around trying to keep this stirred, that from burning, and things running smoothly. The Shepherd sisters were sitting around the table laughing as they cut carrots, celery, and other vegetables. Kids ran through the room and into another or out the back door that stayed propped open.

"Hey guys!" Mark announced.

"Uncle Mark!" A few kids running through yelled and hurried over to tackle him, but when they noticed he wasn't alone they stopped and backed away a little.

"Mark, you made it. I hope the trip wasn't bad." Carol said in a motherly voice as she hugged her "son."

"Not too bad." He shrugged.

"Oh, Meredith." Carol gave her a small grin. "You looked gorgeous and glowing."

"Thanks." Meredith smiled wondering to herself how forced and rehearsed this all was.

"You must be Sam and Natalie." Carol greeted. "I'm Carol, Mark's second mother."

Natalie looked between Sam and her parents then looked at Carol giving her a quickly fleeting, shy smile.

"Hi." Sam murmured still slightly sleepily. "Down." He told Mark as he shifted around. Mark obliged and set him carefully on his feet on the ground. The Shepherd sisters were making their way over and hugged Mark all at once. When Meredith glanced down at her children who were both hugging close to her, she realized how overwhelmed they were by all the people who were in the room. By the time, the Shepherd sisters pulled away from Mark, there were over twenty people in the room including kids ranging in age from about 15 to about 5. They were all saying some sort of greeting to her, Mark, Natalie, and Sam. Mark somehow got pulled away from her and the kids by his nieces and nephews and was in the living room. And from all the yelling, she could only guess they were tackling him or rough housing in someway.

"Have a seat, Meredith." Carol offered gesturing on of the seats at the bar.

"The kids can go meet their cousins." Kathleen said.

"Do you want to play with the other kids, guys?" She asked Sam and Natalie. Natalie shook her head still following her mother close by.

"Drink, Mama. Juice!" Sam said in his broken, slightly slurred together two-year-old language.

"We have plenty of drinks." Donna offered.

"I have some from the car." Meredith shrugged and handed him the sippy cup.

He pulled at her jeans and stared at her expectantly. She sighed and pulled him up carefully balancing him on her lap. He laid his head back against her shoulder.

"I want up too, Mommy." Natalie protested.

"I only have enough room for one, Munchkin." Meredith told her with an apologetic smile. "Go see what Daddy's doing."

She scrunched her nose, shook her head, and sat down on the floor.

"The other kids are really fun, Natalie." Carol offered. "You can make some friends."

Natalie shook her head not removing her eyes from her jeans. The look the Shepherd sisters shared didn't go unnoticed by Meredith.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"It's nothing." Stephanie answered quickly.

"It's just…" Madison said carefully.

"It's just the way these things run. The kids play. The guys watch ESPN. And we, the women, cook and talk in the kitchen." Nancy said bluntly with a shrugged.

"Well, my kids don't want to play. And I can't cook." Meredith replied in the same manner. They shared another look that Meredith ignored.

_**--**_

_**I know I said this was going to be the last one, but now I see it would be super long. So THERE IS ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS.**_


	28. No More Secrets STILL NOT THE LAST ONE

She giggled watching Mark practically being tackled to the floor by his nieces and nephews. He caught a glimpse of her standing in the doorway with Sam and Natalie standing at her feet.

"Okay guys." He chuckled as he moved a few smaller kids off his chest so he could sit up. "Give Uncle Mark some room to breathe."

The grumbled and groaned as he tried to pull his legs out. The older kids got up first and lifted pulled at their younger siblings' shirts until they too stood up. They all watched at Mark got up and walked towards Meredith and his kids. He scooped Natalie up into his arms and blew onto her stomach causing her to laugh hysterically. He chuckled and kissed Meredith's cheek.

"Uncle Mark!" One of the younger kids called. Mark held up a finger indicating he would be back in a minute causing the child to scrunch his nose. Before anyone could protest, he walked picked up Sam with his other arm and walked into the kitchen.

"Uncle Mark always has time for us." The same little kid pouted.

"Had." The oldest boy corrected as he plopped down on chair.

"What do you mean, Tommy?" The kids looked at him curiously.

"He had time for us… before he got a family."

--

Mark walked in carrying his two kids into the kitchen followed by Meredith.

"Oh, Mark, you look so… domesticated." Donna giggled. "It warms my heart."

He just rolled his eyes. Meredith took her previous seat and pulled Sam onto her lap from Mark's arms. He quickly snuggled up against her and looked around. "When do we eat?" Mark asked.

"Twenty minutes." Carol answered still moving around the kitchen in a fast pace.

"Bathroom?" Meredith asked Mark quietly as the baby kicked her bladder. Standing up, she set Sam down on the floor.

"Around the corner. First door." He told her pointing the doorway she needed to go out. She nodded and scurried away.

"So, Mark…" Nancy said as if she were waiting for him to jump in and start a conversation.

"So Nancy…" He mocked. Silence hung in the air as he let out a rough sigh. "What is it now?" He groaned. He tried to keep his voice as calm as normal since Natalie was on his lap with her head on his shoulder, and Sam was warily hugging his leg while sucking his thumb.

"Nothing it's just… weird." Nancy mumbled.

"How is this weird? I'm a husband and a father. That's what you're supposed to do. You grow up. You go to college. You start a career. You get married. You start a family. All of you have done it. Derek's done it. How is it so 'weird' when I do it?"

"Because you're you." Kathleen said blatantly.

"Because I'm me?" He said slowly saying each word as if it were a new sentence. All the women nodded. He looked at each of them trying to process exactly what they were saying.

"Mark, when you left here after… everything… you had no indication of slowing and settling into family life." Donna told him cautiously.

"So because more than six years ago, I wasn't ready to settle down… it's a bad thing that I did?" He tried to clarify looking at them skeptically.

"We aren't saying that Mark." Carol assured him. "It's great that you did, but…" She sighed.

"But what?"

"There are just so many secrets." Carol said.

"There are no secrets. I'll lay it out for you guys; I am in love with my wife Meredith Sloan. We have two amazing kids and a baby boy on the way. And I'm ecstatic. I love being a father and husband more than I thought humanly possible. I love to fall asleep with Meredith in my arms and wake up with both my kids in my bed because they got scared in the middle of the night." By now he was fuming with anger to the point he wondered if he was going red in the face. "And after four years without the common decency of coming out to see you grandchildren or niece and nephew, you think you have the right to tell me that you think it's "weird" that I fell in love with an amazing woman, married her, and started a family because I slept around all the time, more than six years ago. I mean heaven forbid you try to get to know Meredith and the kids enough to realize that they are amazing. Heaven forbid you dote on them half as much as you do Derek, Marissa, and Lauren and the rest of you guys and your kids. That would be absurd right? Because no matter what I do or what Meredith does, we can't undo the past, right? She can't change the fact that Derek was a lying cheating…" He covered Natalie's ears knowing that Sam wouldn't be paying any attention to what was going on. "… bastard. And I can't undo the fact that I didn't openly tell you guys, her ex-boyfriend's family, about Meredith and I being engaged and pregnant, because I knew you would try to drive a wedge between us. Now there are no secrets or unsaid words between us."

They sat completely shocked and speechless for a long while until Natalie tugged on her father's shirt. "Are you mad, Daddy?" She whispered into his ear.

He smiled at her running his hand over her curly hair and shook her head. "No, Daddy's fine." He lied and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She smiled and kissed his cheek before settling back into his chest.

Meredith walked back in completely unaware of what just happened. They all looked at her as she walked in. The Shepherd's and Donna's faces were completely guilt stricken.

"Hey." She whispered to Mark. "What's going on?"

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing, we're fine." She gave him a skeptical look but nodded none the less. "Come on, you have to get off those feet of yours. There are some comfier seats in the living room." He told her standing up setting Natalie down on the counter so he could pick up Sam who almost seemed to be asleep on his feet. Meredith helped Natalie down to the ground and followed Mark into the other room. Nobody said anything or objected to their move. They just watched them go.

--

She watched from the doorway as Natalie and Sam played outside.

"Mommy!" Natalie called waving for her to come over.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." She promised before turning around. Carol was wordlessly finishing dinner while the sisters set the table. Derek, Marissa, and their two year old daughter, Lauren, had just arrived and were talking with the kids in the other room. Meredith passed by them without a word to anyone and walked down the hall trying to find her husband. She found of him staring at a wall in the front room. His face was somewhere between perplexed and crushed. Confused, she walked into the room, stopped beside him, and looked at the wall. The pale green wall had been decorated with pictures. It took her a second, but she realized what it was. Wedding pictures were lined up at head level across the wall. Nancy and her husband were first. Then Kathleen and hers, Madison and hers, and Stephanie and hers. The last one was Derek and Marissa. Under each picture was the latest school picture of each of their kids arranged by age.

Letting out a sigh, she realized what was missing. She wrapped her arms around him. He didn't react for a second as she laid her head down on his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his head on hers and sighed.

He didn't want to admit to his family that the absence of their wedding photo and his kids' pictures had hurt him. But it had. And he wasn't sure why it did. It didn't seem that shocking, yet… it still felt like someone had punched him in his stomach.

"Are you okay?" She asked him quietly as she stroked his muscular arm.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Pulling back, she stared at him right in the eyes. "You're an amazing father and the perfect husband. You don't need a picture to tell you that."

He smiled, pulled back, bowed his head, and kissed her lips softly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her again. "Come on, Natalie and Sam want to play some before dinner."

He nodded and laced their fingers together. "After you, Dr. Sloan."

--

Okay, I said this would be the last chapter. I lied. ONE MORE, I PROMISE!!


	29. Anymore Chances? THE END

Dinner was relatively quiet… sort of. They all sat at two long tables. Ideally the kids sat at one table and the adults sat at the other. But Sam and Natalie insisted on sitting with Meredith and Mark, and neither Meredith or Mark really wanted to sit alone with Donna, Carol, Derek, Marissa, and the Shepherd sisters. So it ended up being the adults and Natalie and Sam. After the earlier discussion, nobody protested it. Sam sat on Mark's lap picking through Mark's food with a fork. Natalie sat between them and Meredith. Though the kids' table was loud, the adults sat stiffly as uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Mark, who was still pretty mad at the whole day's turn of events, stayed quiet eating his food in slow small bites while Sam messily shoveled green beans into his mouth. Natalie ate her food ignoring the awkwardness of the situation. Meredith shifted awkwardly as she tried to keep her bites small, but she had hardly eaten all day and she was pregnant… the situation was against her.

"So Mark…" Derek said much like Nancy had earlier that day. Mark looked up and glared at him even though Derek hadn't been present for his blow-up earlier that day. "Okay…" He looked down at his plate.

"Carol this coleslaw is to die for." Marissa said.

"Thank you, dear." Silence fell over the group again.

"Are we missing something?" He sighed, setting down his fork ready for everybody to begin talking about whoever had started drama at this family reunion. Donna, Carol, and the Shepherd sisters mumbled something inaudible as Mark rolled his eyes. "Who was it this year? Nancy? Kathleen? Stephanie? Come on, someone's got to tell me."

"Shut up, Derek." Mark snapped sending him a deadly glare.

"Oh, it was Mark." He mumbled.

"Derek!" Meredith hissed in a low tone. He glanced at her.

"What?"

"Shut up!" Mark yelled making everyone jump and all the kids stop their conversation. His face went cold as his clutched his jaw. "Just shut up."

"Is everything okay?" Marissa asked looking at everyone jumping into psychiatrist mode. Mark couldn't help to roll his eyes as he looked at her.

"No, everything is not okay." He said as he sat back in his chair shifting his son in his lap.

Marissa too sat back interested since Mark had always refused to talk to her. "Okay…"

"What would you say if you had a patient... let's say his name is… Matt."

"Mark." Meredith said quietly.

"Matt has had two families for as long as he can remember. His real family and the… I don't know the… Herders. When he was younger he was best friends with Darren, and Darren's mother, Crystal, and Matt's mother, Deborah, had been Matt's parents ever since he met Darren. The one night when Darren and Matt had grown up, Matt makes a big mistake and sleeps with Darren's wife, Madison." Mark continued sarcastically.

"Mark." Meredith tried again, but knew if he wanted to say something, he'd say it.

"So Darren runs away and goes to… I don't know lets just say Washington DC. He meets this amazing, caring, beautiful woman named Mary. Mary really like Darren, but Darren had a secret… Madison. When Madison showed up, he broke Mary's heart and chose to try to work things out with Madison. By now Matt is in… Washington DC too. But when Darren finally realized how amazing Mary was, he divorced Madison and pleaded to be back in her life. Being the kindhearted person she is, Mary accepted to try things out." Mark moved around in the chair and moved Sam over to Natalie's chair so he could sit forward. "Then Darren decided that when things got heard it was best to cheat on Mary with a coworker… Lily. Then Matt and Mary started a friendship that grew into something so much more than that. Matt proposed to Mary. Then they found out they were pregnant. They couldn't have been happier. Then six months into the pregnancy, Matt got in an accident. So his two families came rushing to DC. Mary was all alone, and she didn't know that Matt didn't tell his families about the pregnancy and engagement because they were Darren's family too and he didn't want them harassing Mary. They made Mary's life hell. Then after Matt woke up, and his two families were about to leave. Mary does the amazing. She forgive them and tries to allow them into hers and Matt's life together. Then Matt and Mary have and amazing daughter, Natasha, and they get married. They are completely happy. But Matt's two families don't care. So after four years, his two families invite him to a dinner. By now Natasha is four, their son, Matt Jr., is two. And Mary is pregnant. And when they get to the dinner party, all of Matt's family is mean and nasty and think his life has gone all wrong. As if he wasn't worthy of a happy ending because he had changed so much from when he left home. Then Matt finds out that his family doesn't think of him as family anymore. How does he know? His wedding picture and kids' pictures are missing from the wall. So, Marissa, what would you say to this patient?" With that he got up and stormed out.

Meredith sat in awe for a second before Natalie brought her back to reality. "Is Daddy mad?"

She glanced over and shook her head. "Daddy's fine." She promised before getting up and following leaving back an awestruck group of adults.

He was in the front room pacing and angrily mumbling to himself. She let him work off a little more steam before grabbing his arm to stop him. He looked at him and let out a sigh. "Mer I…" She didn't say anything as she hugged him close. His muscles instantly relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her body. "I'm sorry about all this."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She assured him. They stood in silence for a second. "That was a pretty sad story." She giggled. He chuckled. "I especially like the 'Herders.'"

Laughter shook his shoulders lightly. "Shepherd, herder… same different."

She laughed and looked up at him. "I love you, Matt." She teased.

"I love you too, Mary." He joked back as he dipped her down and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

--

"We have to go." Mark announced. It had been two hour since his story at dinner. And somehow they managed any real conversations for the rest of the night. Sam was asleep on his shoulder and Natalie stood beside him sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Donna asked.

He nodded. "It's been a rough day and our flight is early."

She gave him a sad smile and kissed his cheek. "Take care, Markie."

He nodded. Carol and the Shepherd sisters all hugged/kissed him goodbye. Donna kissed Sam's sleeping head and got a hug from Natalie. Finally, she looked to Meredith who was standing quietly beside her husband.

"Meredith…" She said softly searching for words. "I know it's been crazy and we're at complete fault for it. We didn't see you and Mark as you are now. We saw you as we thought of you back when Derek and Addison were together, and we saw Mark as he was before he left New York. We weren't fair to either of you. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I've never seem my son's eyes light up the way when he says your name. He loves you, Meredith. He's proven that even more today. And it's easy to see you love him the same way. I know there's only one first impression, and that didn't go well… neither did the second. But… if there are any chance that you can give us one more chance at a… third impression, we won't waste it this time." Donna said.

Meredith stared at her and gave her a small smile. "I'll think about it." She promised.

Donna smiled and gave her a short hug. "Please do."

Mark took her hand and led her towards the door. "Bye." He called back before opening the door. Meredith walked out first and waited on the porch for her husband to shut the door.

He gave her a small smirk as he intertwined their fingers. Taking a deep breath of the night air, Meredith smiled and followed her husband to the car.

"I think we survived hell." She said. "If we can handle that… we can handle the kid's through puberty and their rebellion years…"

He chuckled and helped the kids into the car seat. "That was one hell of a party."

"God yes." She giggled slipping into the passenger's seat.

--

**Now, this is the end!! I love writing this story. Hope you like reading it.**


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